Keep The Faith
by Sirus7009
Summary: Ash has given up the League Challenges to join Dawn in her Contests. However, an old friend makes life tough for the rising stars. How will they contend with a jealous enemy? Farewell My Gliscor is the prequel to this fanfiction.
1. Keep The Faith

Keep the Faith

Tsukasa: Hey guys! Originally this was going to be a oneshot, but I've decided that it's WAY too long to be a oneshot, so it's a three part fanfiction now. I've already posted the prequel, Farewell my Gliscor (Look it up if you haven't read it yet) though I'm going to leave that one as is. Anyway, let's-

Karen: Let's hear about the fabulous adventure our heroes will be going on today!

Tsukasa:…. Okay…. Well, this oneshot is a polar opposite of sorts compared to the first one, and is in no way related to the previous oneshot.

Karen: Ash has taken a break from his five and a half year regional sweep, deciding to kick back and give contests a shot.

Tsukasa: However, Dawn is what he's really taking a break for. He wants to see her finally win in the Grand Festival, the Johto Grand Festival to be exact… as well as maybe a few other things for Dawn…

Karen: What's with you and Johto? You're also using the same amount of years and months as well…

Tsukasa: Johto is my favorite region, and that amount of time just seems to fit, making them old enough for adult themes.

Karen: Why the extra half year?

Tsukasa: I… Dunno… Well, this is going on for too long, so we don't own Pokemon or the song that this fanfiction references.

Karen: Huh? Song?

Tsukasa: Enjoy!

* * *

What fun! The past few months had been so wondrous for Dawn that it took everything she had to not scream in happiness, from contests, to spending time with her friends, and most of all the time she had spent with Ash. But even with all this joy, thoughts of worry and sadness still plagued her mind.

She had won all five of the ribbons needed to enter the Johto Grand Festival. It wasn't even a challenge since despite the five year span since Pokémon Contests first appeared in Johto, the region was still rather dull… In other words, there were still a lot of newbie's taking on a pro coordinator.

The only reason she ever lost was because of two people: Ash, who was taking a break from his League Challenges, had taken a liking to contests, and defeated Dawn on two occasions. Two ribbons wouldn't get him into the festival, though.

The second person who constantly pestered her was an old friend of Ash's: May. She got to the final round of the Johto Grand Festival during the first year Dawn traveled with Ash, and then took off to try the Sinnoh region for herself. Now, she had returned to claim her third first place trophy. However, the fact that Dawn beat her on several occasions proved that all of Dawn's training put her at, if not above, May's level of skill.

Even beside all of that, one other thing irritated her…

Tsukasa: Hey guys, I'm going to interrupt for a second. This short part is going to get really, really, _really_ weird, so much so that you may think Dawn is tripping… It's not a bad part in any way, just again, weird, and, in Dawn's case, awkward. Please, just read it and continue on. Thank you.

"And our first contest performer is Dawn Albine!"

Dawn entered with a smile, but hidden inside she held twice her weight in fear. Being the first performer, she would set the curve for everyone else. Not the best position, especially for what she wanted to do…

"Come on…!" Dawn took a deep breath, "Ash!" In a flash, her partner trainer appeared before her in a brilliant silver laced tuxedo.

"My dear" Ash offered Dawn his hand, which she gladly accepted.

On contact, Dawn's clothes shone and changed to match Ash's tux, "Ash…"

"Dawn" Ash pulled on her arm, swinging her into a spinning dance.

"And Dawn and Ash wow the crowd with a stunning dance!"

Dawn was overjoyed. Ash was the perfect partner! He had style, he had skill, and most of all, he was-

"Gah!"

Dawn shouted as she snapped out of her dream, looking around her as though she was expecting to be shot. Her breath was short, and her heart beat like crazy… for two separate reasons.

"That same dream… again…" That's right. She had had that dream before. In fact, Dawn had had it many times, one going so far into the dream contest as to win, where she… Dawn shook her head then stood, unzipping her tent. As she did, a rush of cool air blew into the tent, rousing Dawn's beloved partner Pokémon, Piplup who groaned, sleepily rubbing its eye, before falling asleep again.

Dawn smiled as she watched her friend sleep. All these years, he remained a Piplup, while many of Ash's Pokémon had evolved into stronger, more capable Pokémon. Piplup was different though, at least to Dawn. He was her first partner, and as such she has always loved him as a Piplup. If he changed, she couldn't deny she'd have to get used to having a completely different Pokémon. She didn't want that; she wanted her friend to stay the same, cute, reliable, and often times stubborn and irritating. But isn't that how all best friends were?

Her thoughts once again drifted to her other partner… And again she shook her head. She needed to clear her thoughts. She crawled out of her tent, looking around to see both of her traveling companions, Ash and Brock, still fast asleep. For some reason, she was rather annoyed that Ash was facing away from her, possibly because she wanted to see his face. Ash always looked so cute when he was asleep; always letting you know that he was dreaming of becoming a Pokémon master through the grin he would wear.

Dawn took a long breath of the chilled night air then released it in a sigh. She didn't even bother changing out of her pajamas before taking a walk. It wasn't like anyone was going to follow her right?

Ash had to hold his breath to stop himself from shifting around in his sleeping bag. He knew she was watching him, waiting for him to move. Every second that passed felt like an hour to him as he fought to keep from letting out his breath. Finally he heard Dawn walk away, and finally he took a breath of air.

What was she doing awake at this hour? That question nagged at him until he finally unzipped his sleeping bag to stand, slipping on his vest to help ward off the chill of the night. He looked down at his Pikachu, who, despite his rather sensitive ears, still hadn't woken up… but what did he know, Pikachu could be mimicking his trainer's previous stealth.

He looked at Brock: still asleep, though, again, he could be faking. To tell the truth, it didn't matter. Brock was his best friend, and his most trusted companion-beside Pikachu of course- and he knew that Brock wouldn't eavesdrop on him… not like Ash even knew if he was going to talk to Dawn or not. Either way, he started off in a light stride, heading in the direction he _believed_ Dawn had gone.

* * *

Dawn dipped her hands into the river then brought it up to her mouth, drinking part of it then splashing the rest on her face. Those dreams had been tormenting her since she won her fifth and final ribbon, and every night she lost at least two hours of sleep because they distressed her so much.

Sure, it wasn't that bad of a dream. In fact, she had dreamt of dancing with Ash outside of contests several times in the past, even going further into the realm of romance… but still, it was unnerving to see it happen in a contest. One even had May watching them. _That _one was disturbing.

On that topic, May had become rather aggressive lately. She refused to travel with the group, she fought with full strength against Dawn every time she battled her, and most of all she was showing a deep hatred toward Dawn as a person. It didn't take a genius to guess why.

Dawn sighed once more, "I've got to get it together"

"You're fine"

Dawn spun to face the voice, then, without realizing it, smiled, "Ash"

The young trainer walked toward her, returning the smile, "You don't have to get anything together. You're just fine" Ash forced the sense of mind on her.

Dawn immediately glared at her friend. What was he trying to do? "I don't know…" Dawn looked back at the river.

"You haven't been getting a lot of sleep lately" Ash pointed out. He may still be a bit clueless, but he wasn't blind. Every morning she looked horrible, was cranky, and had an extremely hard time staying awake, "I wonder why?"

"I'm just really restless at night, thinking up new contest strategies, who I'm going to use, what moves…" Dawn paused for a moment, "I guess all of this thinking is just making me lose faith in my abilities."

"Keep the faith"

"Huh?"

"Keep the faith" Ash smiled as he walked up to his friend's side, "The faith you've had in yourself all this time. Don't let it fade"

"Um…" Dawn didn't know what to say… _Did Ash just say something logical?_

Ash quickly realized what she was thinking, turning to face away from her as he blushed slightly, "And besides, you've got Brock and Pikachu and your mom and…"

"Let me guess, I have you as well?" Dawn giggled.

"Nope" Ash said bluntly.

"Aw, that's swee- wait, what?" Dawn stared at Ash. He couldn't be serious.

He wasn't, laughing at the well set up double take, "Of course you have me rooting for you too. All of us have faith in your skills." Ash turned towards her and gave her a thumbs up, "You'll win for sure."

Dawn barely contained a tear. It wasn't exactly a speech, but it was enough to rock her emotions, especially coming from Ash. She wiped her eyes despite there being no actual tears, then looked him in the eyes, "Thanks Ash. I really needed that."

"No problem" Ash smirked as he turned and began walking away. All seemed well as Dawn began following him until, "By the way, this is the first time I've ever seen you with bed head. To be honest, I kind of like the wild look."

Dawn froze. That's right. She didn't even bother trying to fix her hair… "Grr…." Ash didn't wait for anything else. He knew she was pissed, and he took off running full speed, "Ash Ketchum! You get back here! I'm going to beat you so hard that you'll forget ever seeing my hair like this!" Dawn took off into a full out sprint, amazingly enough catching up to Ash, "I've got you!" She shouted as she dove forward, tackling Ash to the ground.

"Aaah! Please! Don't hurt me! I've got so much to live for!" Ash plead as he struggled to free himself, though he immediately stopped as Dawn hugged him. _What the…?_

"Thanks Ash… even though it was probably just to tick me off, that last comment really did help clear my thoughts…" Dawn hugged him a little tighter then let go, standing up, and in spite didn't offer to help him up.

"Well, you've kind of got me there" Ash chuckled as he stood.

"Hmm?"

"It was to bug you, but uh…." Ash scratched the back of his head, "I actually do like that look. It makes you look a bit more… carefree."

"You saying I look stuck up with my hair being perfect?"

Ash just shrugged, beginning to walk back towards camp.

Dawn shook her head and sighed, "Even that thickheaded child can act like a man, I guess…" This conversation caused Dawn to set a goal for after the Grand Festival, _If I win, I'm going to confess to Ash._

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let me welcome you all to the Johto Grand Festival!" Laura, the Johto Contest Hostess, shouted into the microphone with a shining smile illuminating the TV screen, "It's the festival's fifth anniversary, so this year we're trying something knew with the first Appeal stage being a double appeal based on the ferocity of the moves used!"

"The ferocity of the moves?" Ash stared at the screen as he gulped down an orange soda. The Johto region was rather generous towards their Grand Festival participants, providing them with elegant room and service. It hardly took any time for the group to settle in and begin burning through the hotel resources, hence the numerous orange soda cans lying around.

"That means that the move has to be both visually appealing and powerful." Brock explained, though both Ash and Dawn had comprehended that fact.

"This means that all of my ideas are useless…" Dawn groaned.

"Doesn't matter" Ash grinned, "We'll help you think of some ideas."

"Really?" Dawn clapped her hands happily.

"Of course. We are your friends after all" Brock exclaimed.

"And friends always help each other out." Ash patted Dawn on the shoulder then took another swig of his orange soda.

Dawn couldn't help but blush when Ash made contact with her, "Thanks Ash"

"Hey, Brock's going to help too" Ash shrugged off Dawn's thanks. He didn't really mind helping at all. All of the time he spent going through contests perked up his ability to bring about unique appeals, and with all three of them thinking about it, he doubted it would take them more than five minutes to figure out the perfect moves.

_Bastard…_ Dawn mentally growled, her hopes of Ash being at least slightly affectionate being shot out of the air. She had a few ideas already in mind, but they could definitely use work, "Let's get started. Piplup, you let me know if you think of anything as well."

"Piip!"

* * *

"Ugh…." Ash groaned from the floor as he stared up at the ceiling. They had been working on strategies for three hours, and all the three trainers were mentally whipped… and Ash could use another soda.

"Come on, there has to be something we could use…" Dawn was pacing around the room, her Piplup following her every move. The past hours had been rough on Ash and Brock, Brock having fallen asleep on the couch, while Ash was barely keeping himself awake.

The young trainer turned to look at the clock: eleven o'clock, "Dawn, I don't know how much longer I can last…" he yawned.

"That's fine Ash," Dawn growled, "Go ahead and fall asleep. I'll figure it out myself"

Ash could sense her hostility, and it came with good reason. Her friends were bailing out on her… Ash wouldn't stand for it. He stood and walked over to the fridge, digging through it trying to find, "Aha!"

"Did you think of something!?" Dawn flew over to Ash.

"Huh? No, I just found a frappuccino" Ash smiled, popping the top.

"Ugh, that's not helping, Ash" Dawn about faced and walked toward the window.

"What are you talking about?" Ash grunted in between sips, "It's helping me stay awake."

"Wonderful" Dawn said meanly.

"You know, you should be happy that I'm even still awake!" Ash shouted, "What is your problem, Dawn?! I know this is a huge deal, but you never acted like this at the other Grand Festivals!"

Dawn immediately lightened up, turning to face her friend, "Ash…"

"Usually I'm out cold in the first five minutes of these planning sessions, yet I'm still awake! And barely too! But I'm still trying!"

"Ash…" Dawn repeated. Ash was right, he usually was out before the planning sessions even started, yet he was trying even harder than she was to stay awake.

"You're right…" she began, "I really don't know what's wrong with me…"

Ash just remained silent, his glare remaining locked on her.

"I'm just so stressed lately, dealing with May and all of her bull shit, planning for my big moment on stage, and all these feelings going through me…"

"Feelings?" Ash tilted his head to the side.

Dawn caught herself, "Nothing! Just feelings of nervousness, that's all! I just… can't stop feeling nervous…"

Ash couldn't help but let out a small laugh, smiling as Dawn's head shot up, wondering why he was laughing…

* * *

"Sure is nice how we've got this snazzy job, huh, James?" the cream colored cat laughed as he and his partner walked through the hotel halls.

"Yes, if not for Mr. Looker standing up for how we 'have good in our hearts', we would probably be in the poor houses." James smiled at the Meowth. Some kid named Terry tipped off the international police of where Team Rocket was based, and they completely shut down all operations, leaving the Pikachu hunters without jobs for a time.

"Too bad a good chunk of our pay as heads of security here goes towards Jessie's Hoenn contests…" Meowth groaned, "We'd be living the big life if not for that…"

"You know, you should be happy that I'm even still awake!"

Both security officers slammed their ears to the nearest door, "I'd recognize that twerpish voice anywhere!" Meowth shouted, though he quickly quieted down when James shhed him.

"It seems the twerps are having a bit of a tuff with each other… or they were…" James corrected himself as he heard Ash laugh.

"James and Meowth!"

Both shot to attention, "Sir!?"

The man laughed, "Still haven't gotten used to being the bosses, huh?"

"Deputy Deriel!" Meowth screeched, "How many times have we told you not to do that?!"

"Sorry, sirs, but it's just so funny to do so" the deputy straightened out, "Anyway, what is it that you two are doing?"

The two ex-Rockets panicked, "Um… Um…!" James stuttered, "We're, uh…"

"We heard a ruckus in this room; however, it seems to have died down!" Meowth explained, "We were just listening in a little longer to make sure that there wouldn't be any more noise problems!"

"Ah, all right" Deputy Deriel nodded, "I'm heading down to the lower levels. Keep working hard, bosses!"

"You too!" James laughed, waiting for the officer to get out of sight range, then both he and Meowth began eavesdropping once more.

* * *

Dawn didn't understand it. Why was Ash laughing?

"You're still nervous?"

"Huh?"

"There's nothing to worry about! If anything, I'm always rooting for you! And with me cheering you on, nothing's going to stand in your way, got it?" Ash cheered, although he did have a sneaky suspicion about her 'feelings'.

"Ash," Dawn blinked a few times, replaying what he said in her mind to make sure she heard him right, "That's…" she sniffled, then tackled Ash with a great hug, "You're right! Without you, I'd never have gotten this far!"

Ash hesitated, then returned the hug, "Yeah. With me around, there's no way you can lose…"

Dawn blushed as she then looked up into Ash's eyes, "And you'll always be here, giving me strength…. Right?"

Ash immediately broke from Dawn's hold, his face beet red, "Y-Yeah! Of course I will!" Ash scratched the back of his head. _What was that all about?_ "Let's get back to work. Got any more ideas we can pick at for the contest?"

"Well, I do have one… but it needs a bit of work…"

"Well, let's whip that idea into a perfect appeal!"

"Yeah!"

* * *

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the first part of the Johto Grand Festival, the Appeal Round!" Laura shouted into her mic, "As all of you have been informed, this Appeal Round will be very different from all those that have occurred before it. This Appeal is judged on how ferocious the move is!"

"So Dawn is up first…" Ash stared down at the announcer, "Come on already, just call Dawn out!"

"You sure seem excited" Brock laughed.

"Of course I am! I can't wait to see the attack we thought up work!" It had taken the entire three day intermission to perfect it, and they had to practice as far away from others as possible to keep it secret, but, "Damn, though… I sure hope that it _does_ work after all that practice we put into it."

"Ah, you of all people shouldn't worry. You're always the one shrugging off Dawns nervousness with your commands of not worrying" Brock turned his eyes back towards Laura, "I can't wait to see it, though."

Amazingly it had just dawned on Ash, "That's right. You never came out to watch her practice. In fact, you didn't even return to the hotel room until last night." Ash glared at Brock, "Where the hell were you?"

Brock simply answered with a twisted grin as well as a sparkle in his eyes.

"You didn't…" Brock nodded to Ash's insinuation, "No flipping way… You actually got laid?"

A tear formed in Brock's left eye, "Yep!"

"Well I'll be damned…" Ash turned his stunned face back towards the center of the arena, a grin breaking through soon after, "How old are you now?"

"Huh?"

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-two, why?" Brock was starting to realize what Ash was getting at.

"Hah!" Ash burst out laughing, "I can't believe it took you this long! This is a total knee slapper!" Ash laughed as he did just as he said, "After all those women, after all those ear pulls and Poison Jabs, you _finally_ got someone!" Even Pikachu had joined in the hysterics.

Brocks response was simple: He slammed his fist onto Ash's head as hard as he could.

"Gack!" Ash cried out in pain, "Sonova_bitch_ that hurt!" he rubbed his now aching head, "Though… I guess I deserved it…" Ash laughed again, "It was still fun to say thou-" Ash was cut short as Croagunk slammed a Poison Jab into Ash's gut, "Ah… so… _that's_… how it feels…" he groaned before collapsing into his seat.

It was then that Croagunk turned to look at the still giggling Pikachu, who, after noticing the poison frog's glowing fist, quieted down.

"And our first contestant of the night is Dawn Albine!"

"She's on!" Ash flew to attention, his smile growing even bigger as the curtains parted to reveal Dawn in her updated pink dress, gold thread lining it to shape into two crescent moons on her sides and a full moon on the front.

Dawn calmly curtseyed before walking onto the stage. The entire stadium become quiet as each viewer eagerly awaited Dawn's choice of Pokémon. Her eyes drifted across the faces until she finally found Ash's face, in response to finding she smiled, reaching for her pokéball, "Piplup! Typhlosion! Spotlight!"

"And in a mix of both fiery and bubbly blasts, Piplup and Typhlosion take the stage!" Laura introduced Dawn's Pokémon, "Now let's see what this dual type team has in store for us!"

_Just shut up and let me (her) do my (her) thing…_ Both Dawn and Ash unknowingly thought together. "All right! Piplup, Whirlpool!"

"Piiipluuup!" a large, wide waterspout formed above the tiny penguin.

"What an unusually large whirlpool! It shows off the sheer strength of that one little Piplup!"

_Shut up!_ Both thought again, "Typhlosion, begin!"

"Begin?" Brock looked at Ash, "I'm pretty sure that's not an attack…"

"Just shut up and watch." Ash ordered, Brock's answer quickly getting answered as Typhlosion began moving it's head in a circle, flames leaking out in a similar fashion to a lasso.

"All right, Typhlosion!" Dawn pointed at Piplup's Whirlpool, "Use Flamethrower!"

"Graaaah!" Typhlosion roared as it 'threw' it's Flamethrower lasso, which collided with the whirlpool and immediately began circling around the whirlpool, tightening the water attack into a thinner and taller water tornado, steam erupting from where the circling fire touched.

"Now! Piplup! Flare Tornado!" Dawn then thrust her hand towards the attack dummy.

"Piiiiipluuup!" the Pokémon threw the dual attack, the tornado engulfing and obliterating dummy before disappearing into a cloud of steam.

"Incredible! The dummy has been eradicated completely! That is without a doubt one of the most powerful double attacks I've ever seen!"

_Not like you see them that often…_

"Let's see what our judges have to say!"

Mr. Contesta began, "Simply incredible! The visual image of a single Flamethrower tightening the Whirlpool into a tornado was stunning!"

Mr. Sukizo went next, "The last time I saw such a perfect combination of Water and Fire was when I first saw the Hydro Flame Spiral! Marvelous!"

Finally Nurse Joy, "The strategy of using Flamethrower like a lasso was ingenious! I've never seen something so far out!"

"And our judges have spoken! Let's all give Dawn a round of applause for a masterful performance!" Laura turned to Dawn, who curtseyed again, then left the stage, "Now! Our next contestant is…!"

* * *

"Dawn!" Ash ran up to the soon to be Festival Champion, who had just finished changing clothes, her Piplup standing by her side, "That was awesome!"

"I'm truly impressed Dawn. That was an ingenious combination."

_You sound like Nurse Joy, Brock…_ "Well, It wasn't all my idea…" Dawn glomped Ash, leaving him blushing madly, "It was actually Ash who rounded out the idea, and even helped me while I was training…" Dawn then looked at Brock, "On that topic, where the hell were you when we were training?"

"Don't ask, Dawn" Ash laughed, "It's a topic you probably wouldn't like."

"He got laid," Dawn guessed.

"Yeah, I knew you wouldn't-" Ash stared at her, "Wait, what?! How'd you know!?"

Dawn barely contained her laughter from getting a revenge doubletake, "He's got this… unusual gleam in his eyes… I can't explain it, but it just screams 'just got laid.'"

"Well I'll be damned" Ash laughed, "But back on topic…."

"I'm just glad it worked. We only got it right three out of twenty two times when we were practicing…." Dawn sighed in relief.

"Why are you worrying? It was guaranteed you'd pull it off, because-"

"I know, I know, because you were cheering for me right?" Dawn giggled.

Ash just scoffed and looked away, "Yeah, take away my fun..." he grumbled.

"So now we have to prepare for the second Appeal round…"

"Hah, we don't even need to prepare for it, since-"

"You're rooting for me?"

"No! Damn it, quit interrupting me!" Ash growled, "It's because it's a typical single Pokémon appeal. You've done those plenty of times and won almost every single one of them, so this should be a snap."

"Good point. Still, I'd like to be completely ready. Come on Piplup, let's go train." She walked past her two friends, then stopped at the door, "You coming Ash?"

Ash couldn't explain to himself why he blushed at the question, "Um… Yeah, just give me a sec…"

"All right" Dawn smiled before continuing out the door.

"Something wrong, Casanova? Having some problems approaching a girl?" Brock taunted.

"Don't you have a girl's hole to be filling?" Ash growled before turning to follow Dawn.

Brock blinked at the comment, "Jesus, that's harsh…. But he's right" he laughed before heading out the door and towards his new girlfriend's hotel.

* * *

"Welcome one and all to the final stage of the Johto Grand Festival! Today we will watch our sixteen remaining competitors duke it out to claim victory in our Knockout Round!"

"She sure loves to talk, doesn't she…" Ash sighed. He was really getting sick of hearing her voice, especially since she hosted in every Johto contest he and Dawn had participated in.

"And our first competitors are…!" Dawn's face appeared on the big screen, "Dawn Albine!"

"Awesome, she's up first again!" Ash cheered.

"And May Coran!"

"Oh bugger" Ash groaned, putting his ungloved hand to his face. He could see the look Dawn was wearing in his mind, "This is bad…" Of all people to start out with, it had to be May. Sure, they would have both ended up fighting at one point, most likely the final battle, but at the start? Dear God…

Both Dawn and May approached the ring slowly, both of them wearing separate clothes compared to the earlier rounds. May wore a black version of her usual clothes though she lacked her usual gloves, while Dawn wore a completely new set of clothes her mother made for her: Her top was a tight red shirt that had black sleeves with an upside down crescent on the chest, and her pants were skin tight jeans that accentuated her lower body rather well. She wore her normal shoes. The one major part: She now wore gloves: Ash's gloves to be exact.

##########################Flashback##################################

"Dawn!" Ash shouted as he ran into the empty waiting room.

"Ash, you better have a good reason for making me wait here." Dawn growled. Her sudden rough attitude matched her rather aggressive clothes.

"Don't worry. This is sure to be worth your time…" Ash smiled as he took off his gloves then handed them to her, "Here."

"Huh?" She took his gloves into her hands, "Why are you giving me these?"

"I think they suit your new clothes. And that's just a little bit more of me helping you win."

"Too bad I can't have all of you beside me in these battles" Dawn giggled, even more so when Ash blushed.

"Um… well, good luck!" Ash turned and ran out of the room.

Dawn looked down at the gloves, then slipped them on. They were a little loose since his hands were larger than hers, but they fit snuggly enough that they wouldn't get in her way… She looked in the mirror, clenching her right hand into a fist, then thrusted it forward, then brought it down to her side, "Hmm… he was right, they do suit these clothes…"

* * *

"Nice clothes, Dawn" May complimented her enemy, "Especially those gloves…" she grinned evilly.

Dawn found it odd that May's eyes were locked on her gloves. "Thanks… You too…"

"All right, battlers! Prepare to-"

"Thanks Dawn, but my outfit isn't quite complete…" Her hand drifted to her pockets, pulling on two black cloths, revealing them to be well used gloves, "These gloves…" She began as she slipped them on, "Belonged to a Pokémon Master…"

Dawn's eyes widened as she continued, "These are the gloves he wore when he first began his journey…" May grinned as she saw the shock in Dawn's eyes, "That Pokémon Master's name is… Ash Ketchum!" May pointed at Dawn, "I see you're wearing his new gloves. Did he give you those as a gift, or just a temporary addition to your new clothes?"

"Gift? You mean… he…"

"Yep…" May couldn't help but release a short but maniacal laugh. _There goes her morale…_

Dawn's eyes shot to the crowd, trying to find Ash, but all that she saw was a blur as Ash ran for the door and into the stadium hallway. "Ash… you…"

"Quite the heated emotional battle going on here, but the true battle is about to begin! Battlers! Begin the match!"

Dawn couldn't believe it… Ash gave her his original gloves…? _Then… what about…?_ She forced herself to straighten up as she, in sync with May's moves, both grabbed their selected Pokémon, "Typhlosion! Spotlight!"

"Blaziken, Stage On!"

"Two fire types!" Laura cheered, "This literally will be a heated battle between the hottest of the hot! Only the strongest will be able to prevail!"

"Blaziken! Blast him with Flamethrower!"

"Typhlosion, use your own Flamethrower!!"

"Blaz!" "Graah!"

"Wow! Look at the power of those two Flamethrowers!" Laura shouted into the mic as the two blasts of fire clashed for victory, "Which one's is stronger?"

"Typhlosion, Flame Wheel right into Blaziken's Flamethrower!"

"Kraah!" the lava badger spun into a blazing sphere, taking Blaziken's Flamethrower and absorbing it to add to it's power, May's performance gauge lowering.

"Blaziken, dodge-" May couldn't say it fast enough, nor could her Pokémon dodge it on his own as Typhlosion rammed into him, sending the large fire bird back a few feet, but not knocking it off balance, "Awesome form, Blaziken! Now! Blaze Kick!"

"Blazikeeeen!" the flaming chicken shouted as it ran at Typhlosion then leapt into the air with a burning kick.

"Sidestep" Dawn shouted, mimicking her Pokémon's move as it dodged the kick, "Spin!" She and Typhlosion about faced, "Flamethrower!" Dawn smiled and, as her Typhlosion readied a Flamethrower, blew a cute kiss at Blaziken, both Blaziken's miss and Dawn's synchronized movements with her Pokémon causing May's performance gauge to drop even further, followed by another drop as the Flamethrower hit the chicken in the back.

"Sky uppercut!" May commanded. Blaziken thrust it's feet into the ground, it's still flaming leg kicking up a storm of fire and dust behind it, spun and shot at Typhlosion, leaving it no time to dodge the powerful punch, chipping down Dawn's performance ratio.

"Kraaagh!" Typhlosion was propelled into the air.

"Blaziken, Blaze Kick as soon as he comes down!"

"Blaazi…" it readied it's move.

"Typhlosion! Protect!"

"What!?"

Typhlosion tucked itself into a ball and summoned a shield of green light around it just as it was struck by the blaze kick, sending it flying into the arena wall in a huge cloud of dust. Both trainers lost points due to the amount of visuals in the battle, though the protect cost May some extra points.

Both trainers stared at the cloud of dust, waiting for it to clear… Well, May was waiting. "Fire Blast!" Dawn shouted, smiling as a five pronged wave of fire exploded from the cloud and rammed into Blaziken, this time knocking it clean off of it's feet, "Yes!" Dawn cheered happily.

"Blaziken, get up!" May shouted at her Pokémon. Not like she needed to. Blaziken was far from done as it stood up and faced the now visible Typhlosion with a glare so intense it could melt a patch of Nevermeltice.

* * *

"That Twerpette seems to be doing a good job holding her ground against the other Twerpette!" Meowth laughed as he ate another potato chip.

"Which Twerpette are you referring to?" James looked at his partner before looking back to the security screens.

"Blue-head. She's upped her game since the last time we saw her in a contest!" the cat chirped, chomping another chip.

"Yes, especially after that emotional start… she looked as though she was going… to…" James' eyes drifted to another screen, "Hang on that's…."

"Huh?" Meowth jumped onto James' head and looked at the screen, "That's the Twerp!"

* * *

"Damn it!" Ash shouted as he thrust his fist onto the wall, immediately regretting it as his ungloved hand bounced off with a disgusting snap, "So… she was…"

So long ago, right before May took off for her first Johto Contest run, Ash returned home with May and Brock in tow. She had already seen his room once, yet May insisted that Ash take her to his room, causing his mother, Delia, to have a freak out session over "Proper Age" and "Boundaries". While Ash calmed his mother down, May ran up to his room, then, just as his fight with his mom settled down-approximately five and a half minutes- May came back downstairs.

She then asked if he could come with her into his room, bringing death glares from Ms. Ketchum, but he obliged… He didn't think about it much last time, especially since they did essentially nothing in his room other than talk a little bit…

A few days later, Ash was preparing for his trip to Sinnoh, and noticed that his old old _old_ gloves were missing. No matter where he looked, he couldn't find them. At first he figured that his mother had taken them for some reason, but as it turns out, Delia had left his room just as he had left it the last time. So he figured that he moved it to another spot in the house.

Nothing, according to his mom… now, five years later, he finally realized, "That's where they went… That's why she wanted to go into my room so badly… That's why…" He didn't care about the pain as he slammed his fist into the wall again, "She's using it against Dawn… That thieving _bitch_ is trying to screw with her…." Ash knew that Dawn could stay strong during emotional moments… for a time. It was only a matter of time before she snapped.

He spun around and pressed his back against the wall, sliding down slowly. It wasn't really the emotional situation that Dawn had been placed in that pissed him off. It was the effect it would probably have on their relationship… He sulked down further until he finally came to a sitting position, "There go my chances…" He held out his arm and slammed his fist into the wall one last time.

"Hey!" the cat smiled as the boy stood up defensively, "You'd better be ready to pay for any holes you punch in my wall, twerp!"

Ash stared down at the cream colored feline for a second, "Wait a second…" he blinked, "I…" he looked up at the cat's purple haired partner, "I know you guys…"

"Is that a twerpish call I hear-"

"You're Team Rocket!!!" Ash shouted, being silenced as the two guards tackled him and held their hands over his mouth.

"Shhh shh!" James shushed.

"Not anymore, twerp! We're on the good side of the law now that Team Rocket has been shut down!" they slowly removed their hands.

"Someone's missing…" Ash said as he looked back and forth between the officers, wondering where their third member was.

"Jessie's out doing contests in Hoenn at the moment, so it's just us two." Meowth explained.

"Speaking of contests, the Twerpette isn't doing well…" James sighed.

"Twerpette… okay, who are you talking about?"

"Blue Girl! She put up a good fight in the beginning, but now…"

"We're down to the last minute everyone! Dawn Albine has been pushed into a corner! Can she pull out of it!?"

"She's snapped…" Ash groaned sadly.

"Huh?" Both guards stared at him before James began, "Listen, Twerp…"

"Ash."

"Huh?"

"You're not part of Team Rocket now, so I'm not a twerp to you guys anymore, right?"

"Don't interrupt or I won't help you. If there's any way we can give you a hand…"

"Yeah! Unless it's us doing the snatching, stealing from your friends is wrong! I say we go in and stop that fight!"

Ash smiled, an idea popping into his head, "Can you get me on the stage?"

"Sure, easily!" Meowth laughed as the three took off running down the hall.

* * *

"We're down to the last minute everyone! Dawn Albine has been pushed into a corner! Can she pull out of it!?"

A minute, sure, to everyone else it was a minute, but to her, it felt like time had doubled. Every time she looked at the clock, three seconds had passed, until finally "Thirty seconds!" Luara shouted.

Both Pokémon and Trainer were out of breath, the Pokémon from battling, and the trainers from issuing order after difficult order, Typhlosion especially tired due to…

_I can't believe it failed._ In a last ditch effort to deal some major damage, Dawn attempted to use a special attack that her and Typhlosion had been trying to master… _Blast Burn failed... May's now beating me…_

"Looks like you don't have his strength with you this time, huh Dawn?" May laughed.

"Shut up! Typhlosion-"

"Blaziken, let's finish this! Use Blaze Kick!"

"Shit…" Dawn cursed under her breath. Was this it? With her last moments she looked to the crowd… he still wasn't there. _Has he… given up on me…?_ Dawn had to force herself not to cry.

"DAWN!" Ash screamed as he ran out onto the stage.

"Wh-What in the world!?" Laura stared at the young trainer, "Security!"

"Ash!?" Both coordinators cried, turning their attention from the charging Blaziken and waiting Typhlosion.

Behind Ash an army of guards followed, "Ash, watch out!" Dawn shouted, then gasped as the guards lined up behind him, two very familiar smiling faces standing at the front of the group.

"You can do it Dawn!" Ash shouted, "Don't you dare believe May's lies!"

"What!?" May screeched, glaring right at Ash.

Ash pointed at his former friend, "I never gave her those gloves! She stole them from-" Ash looked at Blaziken, Dawn doing the same. In perfect sync, both Ash and Dawn shouted, "Typhlosion, Protect!"

Just in the nick of time, a green field stopped Blaziken's kick, leaving both stationary for a few moments.

"Come on Dawn!" Ash smiled as he yelled, "Use Burst Fire Cannon!"

"Burst Fire what!?" Both May and Laura shouted.

"You heard him, Typhlosion!" Dawn thrust her hand forward, "Do it!" Typhlosion began the lasso maneuver used in the appeal round, but the fire formed much faster and at a far larger amount per second, leaving almost no time for Blaziken to try to move away. "Burst Fire Cannon!"

"Graaaah!" Typhlosion screamed as he unleashed three consecutive Fire Blasts into Blaziken, which shrugged off the first one, got hit in the chest and pushed back by the second one, then finally blown away by the third, landing on it's back, knocked out cold.

May didn't even call her Pokémon's name. She just stood in shock, then in horror as the guards ran up to her, pulling Ash's gloves off her hand and giving them to James before escorting her out, followed by her Blaziken.

Dawn couldn't respond either. She was happy, and she knew she had won, but… _What just happened…?_ Finally she snapped back into reality at the sound of his voice, "You did it Dawn!"

She turned and looked at the person she cared most about in the world, "Ash…" She took off running toward him, "I did it…" she said just as Ash was going to hug her… but she didn't hug him, not at first at least.

"Mmm!?" Ash couldn't speak, for his lips had been sealed by Dawns. His mind went blank, short of one single thought: Kiss.

"Well, talk about a victory celebration! Dawn has just won the first round with her Typhlosion, and also with the help of a special guest! The Pokémon Master of the four Regions, Ash Ketchum!" Laura screamed into the mic as the entire crowd went crazy.

Ash snapped back in reality as both he and Dawn broke their kiss and said straight to Laura, "Shut the hell up!"

Dawn continued, "You're ruining the moment…" she laughed then kissed Ash again, which this time he eagerly returned.

* * *

"There you go, Dawn! Take him into your arms and make him your own!" Johanna cheered, not noticing the passed out Delia Ketchum who lay on the couch next to him, "I always knew you'd get him!"

"My… My Ash…" Delia mumbled, "Kissed… a girl…!? Finally…" she said that last word before falling unconscious, a large smile remaining on her face.

* * *

"Um…" James and Meowth walked up to the couple, "I believe these belong to you…"

Dawn broke the kiss when she realized they were handing Ash's gloves to her, "Wait… no, they belong to Ash, right?" She looked at Ash.

"Not anymore. They're yours now…" Ash smiled. He didn't expect such a heated thank you as Dawn kissed him once more, a little bit of tongue play happening-such that Ash really didn't know how to respond- before Dawn took the gloves, removed Ash's new gloves, and replaced them with the old. "Perfect fit…" Dawn looked to Ash, giving him his cue.

Ash paused for a second, then nervously said, "Just like us, huh?"

"Exactly like us…"

* * *

Karen: And I thought the first one had an off ending…

Tsukasa: Yeah I know… This really wasn't my best work, but thankfully the next part will be much better.

Karen: Next time! The Grand Festival isn't over yet!

Tsukasa: In many more ways than one, especially since another Grand Festival Champion makes his debut on our stage!

Karen: The angst of betraying your best friend has equal positives as negatives. Keep the Faith Act 2: Memoirs of a Fateful Love.

Tsukasa: Plus there will be another writing offer!

Both: Stick around!


	2. Keep The Faith Act 2

Keep the Faith Act 2: Memoirs of a Fateful Love

Tsukasa: All right, time to kick it up a notch.  
Karen: We've got a special battle ready for you guys, and compared to As Time Passes, this one's going to lock you in your seats.  
Tsukasa: It's the final battle, and Dawn is on the top of the game, finishing her last obstacle blocking her from the Johto Grand Festival Trophy.  
Karen: But there's a special addition to this year's annual Olivine (It's on the Olivine City outskirts by Route 39, by the way. Sorry I didn't mention that in the first chapter) Grand Festival, leaving Ash battling one of his best friends, and Dawn's worst enemy.  
Tsukasa: Let the games begin!  
Karen: By the way, we wanted to apologize for the first chapter sucking so badly, and also talk about a few reviews we got on Farewell My Gliscor and Keep The Faith Act 1.  
Tsukasa: First off, to Farla: Shut up. We enjoy some criticism, but we don't like it when people have to nip at every little mistake. Farewell My Gliscor wasn't entirely made to please people, rather, to emphasize Keep the Faith. In fact, I didn't like it all that much myself due to the sadness (Okay, I liked it a little…), but, again, I figured it would add a little to this chapter of Keep The Faith.  
Karen: Next, Chaoslord. Yeah, it was a little odd that Ash favors Gliscor more, but think about how much Ash trained with Gliscor compared to Turtwig/Grotle/Torterra. Turtwig was strong right off the bat. Ash had to actually work with Gligar just to get him to feel confident about attacking, causing their friendship to grow that much more… Also, we wanted to let the readers contemplate on the memories of the other Pokémon themselves, though you're right about how not everyone would be able to catch onto who they were. We also actually didn't even consider Primeape… major screw up on our part… And thanks for the edit! We didn't notice that even on our third read through, and thanks to you we fixed it up.  
Tsukasa: Hellwarder, we again apologize for the low quality in chapter 1. I just couldn't get as much detail into it as I had hoped. Don't worry, once I get some work done, especially on Goddess Send, I'll rewrite it to make it a lot better. Also, this chapter makes up for Mays actions a bit. Love hurts, you know?  
Karen: Finally, PearlshipperBrett and Chaoslord!, thanks for sticking with us through all of our Pokémon fanfictions!!  
Tsukasa: One last thing… muhahaha….  
Karen: We've got an… _advertisement_ tease of sorts for a future work added in. It's pretty easy to notice it….  
Tsukasa: All right! Let's get going!  
Karen: We don't own Pokémon nor the… wait a sec, you never explained why we're-  
Tsukasa: We don't own the song this fanfiction references!

###################################################################

"Haa…." Dawn sighed. She had been sitting on the couch alone for quite a while, Piplup sleeping in Dawn's room.

Ash immediately shot to her side, "Something wrong?" Ever since that kiss the day before, Ash had become unusually affectionate toward his new girlfriend, though he did still have some tied emotions hidden.

"Yeah…" Dawn replied, looking into Ash's eyes, "It's just…"

Ash could see her eyes begin to shine with tears, "Don't… not in front of me." Ash stood and walked over to one of the windows, opening the curtain to reveal a black sky, "It's going to rain soon…"

"Yeah… what about it?" Dawn sniffled.

Ash waited a few moments before sighing, "Do you remember when we met in that forest clearing five years ago?" Pikachu ran to his partner's side, remembering the conversation the two had had.

"You mean before my final Sinnoh contest?" Dawn slowly stood and moved to her boyfriend's side, rather confused at what he as getting at. The sky was so ominous… despite how long ago it was it indeed was something she remembered from the vague memory, "There wasn't a single star in the sky that night, was there?"

"It looked like we were just standing in the rain, but…" Ash lowered his head and smiled, "I was actually crying…"

"Really?" Dawn looked at him in shock, "If you needed to cry, you should've just done it at the camp rather than making me search for you in the rain." She gently scolded.

"Are you familiar with the saying 'Stand out in the rain, so no one sees me crying as I wash away the pain…'?" Ash brought his gaze to look at the black sky again.

"No, I don't think I've ever heard of it…" Dawn said as she turned and walked towards the door. She knew where he was going with this, "Is it true?"

Ash just turned and flopped onto the couch, not providing an answer, though Dawn easily guessed that it was indeed true. "I'll be outside then…" she shut the door behind her, leaving Piplup behind.

Ash stayed quiet for a moment, then rolled his head to the side to look at Pikachu, "It'll be our turn next…." Ash sighed, thinking about his old traveling partner, "I just can't believe… that she did that to Dawn…" He looked back at the ceiling, moving his hand to block the ceiling lamp's light, "And me…"

######################################################################

May was beside herself with anger, not because she lost, but because she actually lied about Ash's gloves… "I stole from Ash… I robbed Dawn of her hope…" The young coordinator sat on a set of stairs outside the Coordinator Paradise, the hotel that Ash and his friends were also staying in. She pulled her legs close to her chest, her arms wrapped around them, hands joining in front. And in her hands May held the torn ribbon that she and Ash won together, "I'm the worst…" she choked down what would have been bawls of tears, pressing her face into her knees. To tell the truth, the fact that she was soaked to the bone from rain helped to keep her calm over losing her mind in both anger and hatred towards herself.

The sounds of boots squeaking on wet cement echoed behind her, "Who's there?" May didn't even both turning around. She couldn't bear showing her face to anyone.

No reply, "Who's there?" She asked again, in a more commanding tone. Still no reply. She finally looked behind her to see a blue haired coordinator that she knew all to well. It took every ounce of strength to contain the horrid pain inside her heart, "Dawn…"

The girl didn't respond, her eyes closed and her head pointed at the sky. It took a moment, but May quickly noticed, "You're… crying…?"

Dawn nodded her head.

"Why… why would you be crying…? Tomorrow you're going to win… the Grand Festival…." May began to choke.

"I'm not supposed to be seen when I'm crying… but I guess I can tell you…" Dawn shook her head, shaking the rain off of her hair, "I'm crying because of Ash… Because I can't believe that I still haven't confessed to him, even after what he did for me yesterday…"

She couldn't hold it in any longer, "Why… why would you cry over something like that…? That's so stupid…." May started crying as well, "The fact that you haven't told him yet is…" May had to stop for a moment, the tears not helping as she continued, "Is because you don't need to tell him… he knows, right?"

That kind of thought never crossed Dawn's mind, "I guess you're right…"

The two of them remained still, tears scrolling down their saddened features for several minutes until both of them had gotten it all out. "Dawn…" May mumbled, still hiccupping a little, "It's not my style to say something like this… at least not anymore…" She turned to look at Dawn again, "But… I'm so sorry for what I did… I just… It wasn't me on the stage… it was someone else completely…" She wanted Dawn to say something, but she remained quiet, "I just couldn't stand it… I spent over a year traveling with him, yet… he threw me out like an old gum wrapper… I just couldn't stand watching you and him become so close…"

"He didn't throw you away, you know…"

May shook her head, "Yeah right…"

"Ash has always been a thickheaded idiot, especially in the area of romance, but one thing that has held me from confessing to Ash was his obsession with you…"

May stood, "What…?"

"Every time he won a battle, every time he came close to winning a contest, He'd talk about me and how great I was on the stage… Then, after we'd headed back to the Pokémon center, he'd start droning on about how I was catching up to you, yet how I still had a ways to go before I matched your skill…"

"You… You're lying…"

"Every time he won a gym battle, he talked about how he wished you could have been there to see it…" Dawn clenched her fist and began shaking as she finished, "And most of all… I acted like I loved egg fried rice, when, in truth, I hate it… I hate how salty it is… I hate how much pepper Brock adds to the mix… just because Ash said it was your favorite food, as well as his…" her voice cracked as she finished before collapsing to her knees.

May followed suit, tears beginning to once again trace after the raindrops that stained her face, "Dawn…" May ran forward and embraced her rival tightly, "I guess this is what you'd call a love triangle… huh?"

"Yeah" Dawn couldn't help but smile despite her tears.

"I'm so sorry… I can never forgive myself for what I've done, but… maybe you…"

"I can never forgive you for what you did…." Dawn said coldly.

"I understand…" May released her and stood.

"But…" Dawn stood as well, "Despite how cruel you were… we can still be friends" Dawn took May's hand, smiling as she continued "Now let's wash away our pain."

May simply smiled back, and the two closed their eyes and held their heads high, the rain soaking them down and cleansing them from their hate, their anger, and most of all, the anguish that the curse of love brought about.

######################################################################

Ash stood in the doorway, watching his old friend stare up into the sky. The rain had stopped, and Dawn had gone inside. But May remained on the steps, her head now in her knees. Something had happened, he was sure, because Dawn had become unusually talkative… Very talkative, "I can't believe she…" Ash shook his head. He was having trouble comprehending her words. _I love you, Ash…_ was what she said… then she babbled about how she was actually going to wait until after she won the festival to confess, but…

Even if she was cruel, even if she was pure evil… He still had feelings for May. He hadn't traveled with her in so long, and she was now viewed as a rival, if not an enemy… yet he still saw her as one of his closest partners, only rivaled by Dawn.

"Pii…" Pikachu whined. He knew what Ash was thinking, and it pained him to see his partner trying to decide who he wanted to be with.

This had to have been the hardest choice Ash had to make in his life. Thoughts swirled around and around Ash's mind, until finally he made a grab into the darkness, and pulled out his decision, "We're heading back to our room, Pikachu…"

For the first time in a long while, Pikachu had no way of telling what his trainer's thoughts were. He simply nodded and followed.

As they left, May's head rose to look into the eyes of a rather large man, dressed in a black tuxedo, "Are you May Coran?"

The girl nodded her head, "We've got a special offer for you today, my dear" the man grinned, "We, myself and the Festival hosts, want you to battle one last time."

May stood slowly, stretching as she asked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean what I mean. We want you to participate in one last battle, the battle to end all battles. A double battle against the next Festival Champion and the Pokémon Master, Ash Ketchum."

"Sorry, but I…"

"I won't take no for an answer. We've already contacted your partner. He's on his way now, and rather eager to take a stab at your opponents."

"My partner? Who…?"

………….

"What!?"

#######################################################################

"Hey Twerp!"

Ash sighed at the name. _Still using it, huh?_ He turned and faced his ex-stalkers, "James, Meowth. I thought I told you not to call me that." Ash smiled, "I even stopped calling you Team Rocket."

The duo had been helping Ash out with… providing _special_ seats and refreshments throughout the days battles. Ash had enjoyed the special treatment, especially when the festival champion- to-be sat right next to him during other coordinator battles. Now that he'd made his choice, though… that short time spent with her somehow felt a bit more important to him.

"What're you doing wandering around here?" Meowth looked around, "And the Twerpette isn't with you either."

"Speaking of, how is the Twerpette?" James asked.

Ash blinked, an awkward smile on his face, "Which… one are you referring to?"

"Huh?"

Ash shook his head and chuckled, "Listen, you can call _me_ a twerp, but refer to the girls by their names. It's confusing as hell otherwise."

"You're still the twerps to us, and so-"

James thrust his hand onto Meowth's mouth, "Fair enough, especially since I likewise get confused." James straightened up, "So, how is Ms. May?"

_Ms.? Guess it's part of the job to be more formal towards competitors…_ "I'm not absolutely sure. As far as I can see, she and Dawn made up with each other, yet she's still sitting outside."

"Still heartbroken, I'd guess."

Ash nodded, "I'm going to head back to my room… I've got something I need to tell Dawn." He turned and began walking again, his partner Pikachu finally realizing what he was thinking as he followed the trainer.

"Poor kids. Love is such a horrible beast…" James sighed.

"Did I forget to tell you that Jessebelle found out where we're stationed?" Meowth coughed humorously.

"W-What!? We've gotta hide! No, wait, we have to run! As far away as possible!" James shrieked.

"I was just kidding…" Meowth laughed. _Too easy…_

"Jerk…"

########################################################################

"Ash!" Dawn chirped happily when she saw him and his Pikachu enter, "I made dinner!"

Ash looked around as he walked through the hotel living room toward the kitchen, "Is Brock here?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Dawn gave him an odd look.

"Yeah, good point. Filling girls is what he was made for" Ash laughed, not noticing the harsh blush that now filled Dawn's cheeks.

_Filling… girls…?_ She shook her head violently as she tried not to think ahead of herself and Ash's current relationship.

It was then Ash noticed her shaking head and walked up to her, putting his hand on her shoulder then jumping back a few feet when Dawn nearly shot out of her skin at his touch, "Gaah!"

"Keh… Dawn, what was that about?" Ash smiled as he approached her once more, now easily seeing her blush.

"N-nothing!" She shouted as she shoved Ash's bowl into his hands, "I made your…" She paused, "Our favorite" she made her own bowl of egg fried rice, then walked over to the table, waiting for Ash before they both sat down.

_What was with that pause…?_ Ash knew something was up.

Both of them stared at their food for a few moments before Ash finally took a bite, his eyes lighting up, "Dawn…"

Dawn was engulfed in thoughts of what she could do with Ash now that they were a couple… "Huh?" she lifted her head, "Something wrong?"

"No way!" Ash slammed his hands on the table, a huge smile slapped on his face, "This is incredible! Brock's never made it this well!"

Dawn smiled as she took a bite herself. This was her first time cooking egg fried rice, so she was rather impressed that Ash liked it so much, though she was surprised her tiny adjustment changed the dish so much. "All I did to it was use less pepper on the eggs and added some soy sauce." She smiled as she took another bite. It was still salty, though the soy sauce added a new flavor that she could stomach with a normal, and not forced, smile.

"Well, it's a big difference!" Ash took his last bite before standing, "Mind if I have some more?"

Dawn couldn't help but giggle. He was happy. That's all she had to know to be happy herself, "Feel free. I figured you'd want a lot."

"You know me too well Dawn" Ash said as he ran to the stove to fill his bowl again. Despite his gleeful smile, he still was torn inside. _I've made my choice… yet I still feel so bad…_He took a moment and looked at his yellow friend who was nibbling on some Pokémon food that Brock had left out, and his friend looked back at him. _Is this… really the right choice?_

Ash wasn't expecting the response his mouse Pokémon gave him, "Chuuu!!!" Pikachu shouted as he zapped Ash with a Thunderbolt.

"Gaaaaah!" Ash screamed in pain as he fell to the floor, smoke rising off of his scorched clothes.

"Ash!" Dawn flew to Ash's side, knocking her chair over in her rush to kneel next to him, "Are you okay?" She shot a glare at the mouse, who was now chewing on another piece of food, acting as though nothing had happened.

Ash rolled his head to the side to look at his partner. "You're a cold bastard, Pikachu… but you're right…"

"Huh?" Dawn stared down at Ash. "What are you talking…?" She closed her eyes as Ash grabbed her and pulled her on top of him, their lips touching in a teasingly gentle kiss.

Ash savored the small kiss before breaking it, "Dawn… You're the best thing that's happened to me…" he sighed contently, "I'm sorry if I didn't show it, but it's because of you that _I've_ even made it this far…"

"Ash…" Tears began to well up in Dawn's eyes.

"Don't cry" Ash smiled, "You've got to wait until…"

Dawn shut him up with another kiss, though she kept it just that way. _Not yet… We can't do it just yet…_ She giggled as she felt Ash's tongue press against her lips. Dawn pulled out of the kiss and repeated what she had thought, "Not yet, Ash… I still have to win before we go any further."

"Would it help if I said you've already won in my heart?" Ash plead, laughing as the blue haired coordinator shook her head defiantly. _She's always been there, giving me strength from the sidelines…_ _I've made my choice… and I'm sticking with it…_

#######################################################################

"Hydro Pump, Starmie!" the trainer shouted, not knowing it would be his final command.

"Typhlosion!" She didn't even have to tell him to get ready. The volcano badger spun its head around and around, preparing for, "Burst Fire Cannon!"

"Kraaaaah!" Typhlosion roared as he unleashed three Fire Blasts in quick succession, the three combined blasts evaporating the Hydro Pump and slamming into the Starfish Pokémon, knocking it unconscious.

"And there it is! Dawn Albine has just won the Festival Cup with her unique attack, Burst Fire Storm!"

Dawn happily spun to face her beloved as he ran towards her, embracing her in a joyful hug, "You did it Dawn!" Ash shouted as he began spinning around, lifting her off her feet.

"Of course I did!" She cried happily as Ash stopped spinning, "Because I had you right beside me the whole time."

"No, that was Pikachu, not me" Ash sighed as he let her go.

"Ash, you're so-" Dawn blinked, "Wait, what…?"

Ash burst out laughing as Dawn realized she got hit by one of his double takes again, "Of course I was! And I always will be" He gave her a thumbs up. The two had agreed _not_ to kiss on television that morning, due to Delia Ketchum calling and freaking out about how they shouldn't "Do that" on live T.V. Ash knew his mother was annoying, but that was just cruel, especially during such a momentous occasion.

It tore at both of their hearts to not embrace each other in a lovers kiss, but for now, having Ash's arms around her neck counted enough as a lovers embrace as Dawn thrust her gloved fist into the air, "Yeah! I did it! I won the Grand Festival!"

The entire crowd was going into a frenzy, Brock sitting in the middle of it smiling with his Croagunk in Ash's seat, "Well, she finally won… Both Ash and the Festival…"

The cheering was quickly silenced as Laura announced, "But ladies and gentlemen that's not the end of our Grand Festival!"

Both trainers looked at her, "Say what?"

"Our sponsors have devised a special event to mark the finale of our Fifth Annual Johto Grand Festival!"

"Again..." Ash growled, "Say what?"

"Our Festival Champion, alongside her boyfriend, the Pokémon Master Ash Ketchum, will have an all out double battle with two very powerful coordinators in the contest battle to end all battles!" Laura swung her arm behind her and pointed at the stage curtain, "And our challengers are…" The curtains opened to reveal…

"No way…" Ash stuttered

"You're kidding me…" Dawn stared in horror as their challengers were…

"May Coran and Drew Vessil!"

"Bugger…!" Ash groaned. _Of all people, it had to be May, and to add to the pain, Drew is as excellent a battler as a coordinator._ "This isn't going to be pretty…"

"No it won't…" Dawn took Ash's hand and smiled at May, though not a mean, spiteful smile. A smile of hope, of friendship, and it broadened as May returned it, "But we'll do it together, right?"

"We'll win for sure" Ash nodded his head as his opponents approached the ring.

"This will be a special battle! The challengers may use all of their Pokémon, are allowed switches, and the time limit is two hours! Finally, the appeal gauge has been multiplied twenty times, leaving room for more mistakes, but also allowing the most stylish to not win immediately."

"So it's basically a normal battle with some added strings." Dawn looked to Ash.

"Sounds easy enough!" Ash laughed. Despite earlier thoughts, he suddenly had a feeling he was going to enjoy this battle.

"Who will win? What will this battle bring about? How-"

"That's it!" Dawn shouted and pointed at Laura, "As Festival Champion, I'm giving you the order to start the match and _shut up_ until we win! Got it?"

"Don't worry. This won't last long" Ash grinned as his hand drifted to his pokéballs.

"Quite the cocky bastard…" Drew brought up his first pokéball, waiting for Laura.

"All right…" Laura said hesitantly, "Let the battle begin!"

"Flygon, take the stage!"

"Blastoise, stage on!"

In a flash of white light, a green dragon and a large blue turtle with two cannons protruding from its shell appeared before the crowd.

"You're not the only one with a dragon type, Drew," Ash grinned, "Garchomp, I choose you!"

In a flurry of ball capsule sparks, a dark blue hammerhead dragon appeared, "Gaaar!" it roared as both it and Flygon locked eyes, waiting for their respective trainers commands to tear each other apart.

"Quite the matchup, here…" Dawn mumbled, trying to decide on her starter, "All right!" She spun her pokéball in her hand, "Mamoswine! Spotlight!" the mammoth Pokémon appeared in a burst of icy shards from its ball capsule.

"Flygon, Flamethrower on Mamoswine!"

"Garchomp, take the blow!" The dragon ran in front of Mamoswine, taking the Flamethrower with arms crossed in front of it.

"Kh…" Drew growled. _It didn't even faze it!_

Dawn could see Drew's sudden distress, "Mamoswine!" Garchomp instinctively moved aside, "Use Ice Shard on Flygon!"

Ash was immediately confused in her choice of action as he watched a sphere of ice form then get launched by Mamoswine. _Why not power up with it first?_

"Blastoise, Iron Defense!" May's Blastoise stood between the attack and target, glowing a bright bluish hue. The shard impacted, to little to no effect.

"What!?" Both Dawn and Ash shouted in shock.

"You're not the only one with a good defense…" May giggled. _Don't expect my love to make me hold back… I _will_ win this!_

Ash brought his thumb to his mouth and bit his thumb nail, a habit he had developed out of nowhere, unexplainable even to himself, though it was an excellent cue to Dawn that he was trying to think of a strategy.

"Ash, what about Draco Meteor?" Dawn suggested, quietly enough that May and Drew couldn't hear, "Iron Defense can't stop a special attack!"

"No, I'm not wasting it on Blastoise. We can't risk Garchomp's strength being lowered… It would be to much better effect on Flygon-"

"Flygon! Use Flamethrower and aim for Mamoswine once more!" Drew shouted.

"Don't think that we're going to wait for you to finish planning!" May laughed, "Blastoise, use Flash Cannon on Garchomp!"

It didn't take more than a second for the steel blast to ram into Garchomp, pushing him back as well as damaging him moderately, "Damn!" Ash shouted angrily. There was no way to stop the Flamethrower from hitting Mamoswine.

"Hmph" Dawn grinned, "Mamoswine! Ice Shard!"

Mamoswine knew immediately what her next command was, "Maaamoo!" the mammoth roared as it formed the Ice Shard and in the blink of an eye swallowed it, ice quickly covering it's body, it's hair turning into frozen spines.

And just as the power up was completed, the Flamethrower slammed into the now charged Pokémon, nearly all of the flames being nullified by the ice, "What in hell's name!?" Drew shouted, _How the devil did she do that!?_

"Great job, Dawn! I never would have thought of using that as a defensive move!" Ash gave her a thumbs up.

"Thanks Ash, but we have to stay focused…." Dawn's eyes darted between both her team and her enemy's team, "I've got an idea."

"Really?"

"All right! Mamoswine, Ice Shard once more!"

"Maamoo!" In a flash Mamoswine created and fired another sphere of ice.

"Haven't you learned your lesson yet? Iron Defense, Blastoise!" May commanded, her turtle Pokémon once again blocking the attack.

"Ash, now's your chance!"

"What!?"

It didn't take a genius to understand Dawn's plan, "All right Garchomp, move in! Get to Flygon!"

"Gar!" with one step Garchomp shot across the ring.

"Damn it, I won't lose to some cheap pseudo-legendary!" Drew shouted in utmost rage, "Flygon, Dragon Breath!"

"Flaaa-Gon!" the green dragon spewed a wave of blue flames toward the charging Garchomp.

"Okay, I have _no_ clue what you just called Garchomp, but I'm guessing it's not a compliment" Ash said with a goofy smile before ordering, "Spin around it!"

On command, the Jet Dragon Pokémon spun through the air and around the stream of flames, "All right, Draco Meteor, point blank!"

"Gaaar!" a storm of energy appeared above Garchomp's head, forming into one single orb, "Chaaa!"

"No, Flygon!" Drew couldn't do anything as Flygon was flattened by the Draco Meteor attack. "Shit…" He pulled out his pokéball, "Return, Flygon…"

"Don't sweat it Drew!" He turned to his partner, "That's just one Pokémon! We can do this!"

Drew smiled and nodded, "Right, not my style to be deterred by one little defeat." He pulled out his next pokéball, "Walrein! Take the stage!"

In a burst of foamy bubbles, a large blue Walrus appeared, "Ruuuh!"

"All right!" Drew began but was interrupted.

"Garchomp, return!" Ash recalled his Pokémon.

"Ash, what are you doing?" Dawn stared at her teammate.

"Like I said, we can't afford that loss in strength. I'll call him out again later… Right now…" He threw his pokéball, "Kingler, I choose you!"

A burst of blue and red confetti marked this giant crab's entrance, "Kuukiikuukiik!" it gurgled, surveying its opponents.

"Three water types…" May analyzed the situation.

"Doesn't matter. My Walrein is strong enough to take it down, as well as that Mamoswine." Drew scoffed.

"Still, we have to be careful. It's been a while, but I know that Kingler is ridiculously strong…"

"Tch, like I said, it doesn't matter. Walrein!" He pointed at Mamoswine, "Ice Ball on Mamoswine!"

Walrein froze its breath into a rough ball of ice, then launched it.

"As a ground type, Mamoswine doesn't have a resistance to ice…" Dawn bit her lip. She didn't even bother telling Mamoswine to dodge. It would be a wasted effort, though she knew Mamoswine could easily take the blow.

"What was that?" Dawn laughed as the Ice Ball shattered, not even causing Mamoswine to blink.

"Give it time" Drew replied, "Once more, Walrein!"

"Kingler, Crabhammer on Blastoise!" Ash thrust his hand towards May.

"Blastoise, Brick Break!"

Both water types charged toward each other, slamming hand and pincer repeatedly in a battle of strength. _Come on, Kingler… Just like in the Indigo Conference!_

"Kuukiiik!" Kingler gurgled loudly as its claw overpowered Blastoise, knocking the turtle's arm away before thrusting it into Blastoise's chest, sending it flying back.

"All right!" Ash cheered, "One more time! Crabhammer!"

"Blastoise Iron Defense, now!" May shouted, watching in horror as Kingler began assaulting her Blastoise with numerous Crabhammers.

It didn't take long for the glowing Iron Defense to finally fail. "Stooise!" the cannon turtle roared in pain as it was knocked onto it's back with one final attack, falling unconscious.

"Keep it up, Walrein! Ice Ball!"

As Kingler's first hunt ended, Ash turned to look at what he had been missing, immediately running short of breath; the ice ball that was slowly forming in front of Walrein had become huge. His head shot back to Kingler, "Kingler, get in front of Mamoswine, quick!"

Just in time, Kingler ran in the way of the ice ball, but to far more horrendous effect than Ash had hoped. The sphere slammed into Kingler, who barely survived the hit. Ash had no choice… _All or nothing attack!_

"Venusaur, come on out!" May threw her pokéball, a large flower topped lizard appeared in a burst of red flower petals.

"Kingler! Charge Walrein!"

"What kind of strategy is that?" Drew laughed, "Ice Ball once more!"

Despite the command, Walrein had difficulty creating the Ice Ball fast enough as Kingler ran straight for it, "Crabhammer!"

The giant crab slammed its claw into Walrein, but it barely flinched, "What!?" Ash quickly calmed himself, "Try this then! Hyper Beam!"

"Don't bother!" Drew exclaimed with a wicked smile as Walrein finished crafting it's attack, "Ice Ball into Kingler's claw!"

Ash barely held back an outburst of curses as he watched the Ice Ball lodge itself inside of Kingler's claw, blocking the Hyper Beam… Ash let out one single word, "Shit…." As Kingler's claw exploded in a brilliant yellow light, the blast sending it flying all the way to Ash's side, "Kingler… Good job."

#####################################################################

"Oooh…! Geez that must have hurt…" the young trainer flinched as he watched the explosion.

"Terry!" a similarly young blonde haired trainer called, running towards the boy with two bags of popcorn.

"Ah, Karen!" Terry smiled as his friend sat down next to him, not wasting any time grabbing his bag of popcorn and stuffing a handful in his mouth.

"What did I miss? Did something happen?" Karen asked anxiously. The way the crowd was going nuts, she _had_ to have missed something big.

"Happen? Ash's Kingler is what happened! It just knocked itself out with its own Hyper Beam! Boom!" Terry threw his hands into the air for effect.

"How in the world did it do that!?" the blonde was hopping up and down in her seat. _I can't believe I missed it!_

"Drew's Walrein shot his Ice Ball right into Kingler's Hyper Beam claw, blocking the shot and causing it to go off _inside_ Kingler!" the black haired trainer explained, "Can't wait to see what happens next!"

"Who are you rooting for anyway?" Karen calmed down a bit, "May or Ash?"

Terry froze for a moment, "Um…" His eyes moved between the two trainers in the ring, "Well… the way May acted the other day… hmm…" Terry paused, "Uh… Gary always talked about how great Ash was but…." Terry sighed, "We've actually met and gotten to know May, so if anyone, I'm rooting for her. She's an excellent coordinator, and she's beaten the two of us numerous times…" Terry looked at the battle once more, "But whatever was up with her the other day, she seems to be her normal self now…" Terry stood and started shouting, "The first battle was a fluke! Go May! Kick his ass!"

Karen couldn't help but laugh, both at Terry's enthusiasm and the face his Pikachu was making sitting in the next seat over, "What's wrong, Pichii? Usually you're just as peppy as Terry."

"Pika pii…" the Pokémon sighed tiredly.

"Aw…" Karen smiled cutely at the sleepless Pokémon, "Sorry to hear that… Well, you'd better perk up a bit, because I don't think this battle's ending any time soon. And with that…" Karen shot to her feet, joining Terry in the shouting, "Come on May! Show him what you're made of!"

######################################################################

May turned to the crowd, _Did… someone just call my name?_ She found it odd… nearly every fan in the stadium was cheering for Ash and Dawn. "Must be… my imagination…"

"Mamoswine, Ice shard on Venusaur!" The mammoth did as it was told, firing a blast of ice towards the Flower Pokémon.

It was then that May's attention snapped back to the battle, and without a sweat shouted, "Let's show 'em our own special move, Venusaur! Leaf Shield!"

"Leaf what!?"

Venusaur released a flurry of leaves, similar to Razor leaf except for the fact they compiled in front of it in a thick shield of green, blocking the attack completely.

"What the hell!" Dawn cried angrily, though she had to let a small smile peak through the rage, _Nice…_

Ash didn't miss a beat, easily picking his next Pokémon, "Quilava!" He threw his pokéball, "Come on out!"

In a burst of both flames and gold confetti the lava weasel appeared, "Quilaa!" it released a cry before shaking it's body, fire floating off into small, glittering clouds. It was more than ready for a contest, Ash knew, and his battle strategy was already made.

"Dawn" Ash looked at her and nodded with a smug grin.

Dawn had a hard time realizing what Ash was nodding for, but after a moment it finally hit her, "Mamoswine! Again on Venusaur!"

"Persistent much?" May's Venusaur erected its shield again, easily nullifying the attack.

"Flame Wheel!" Ash shouted, cheering as his Quilava burned through the leaves and nailed a spinning fire attack right on Venusaur's head, "Now, bounce off!"

Quilava ended it's attack by landing on Venusaur's nose then leaping off of it high into the air, "Get another one ready!"

"Walrein, Ice Ball again!"

"Is that all that that thing knows!?" Ash shouted in irritation before turning to Dawn once more, "Give him a boost!"

Dawn stared at the Pokémon for a moment, then shouted, "Mamoswine, hit Quilava with Ancient Power!"

The tusked Pokémon charged a swirling mass of energy and launched it at Quilava, both trainers not expecting the outcome as Quilava's Flame Wheel merged with the Ancient Power, "All right!" Ash thrust his fist into the air, "Aim for Walrein!"

"Ice Ball!" Drew shouted, though just like the other trainers he was shocked to watch the flaming weasel's attack slam into the sphere of ice, crashing through it and into Walrein with a dual typed attack.

"Yeah!" Both Dawn and Ash cheered as, for the first time, Walrein showed pain.

"Venusaur, Razor Wind on Mamoswine!"

"Maa? Moo….!" The mammoth groaned as it took the attack full force.

"How'd she use it so fast?!" Dawn stared at the opposing Flower Pokémon.

Just as the attack ended a leaf rose off of Venusaur then disintegrated.

"Kuh…" Ash growled, "A power herb…"

"Should've known…" Dawn sighed. _Not like it did much…_ "At least Mamoswine is still up." She pointed at Drew, "Ancient Power!"

"Ice Beam on the Ancient Power, Walrein!" In a bright clash, the sphere of energy met the blue beam, creating another large explosion that was followed by a similarly large dust cloud.

"Perfect cover…" Ash chuckled, bringing a look from his partner, "Quilava" Ash said quietly. His opponents could hear him, he knew, but not as well, "Overheat on Walrein."

Under the cover of the dust cloud, Quilava charged the attack, glowing a bright red before releasing the blast.

"Walrein, shoot another Ice Beam to clear the dust!" Drew shouted. The beam did just as he planned. But something not planned occurred; the beam was cut through by a spinning inferno, "What the!?" _That coward used the cloud as a cover!_

Walrein once again was hit, and once again it showed pain, yet it still stood strong. "Damn it!" Ash stomped his foot, "How is that thing still up!?"

"Thick Fat, I'd guess" Dawn sighed as Drew grinned, "Fire moves aren't the best against it."

"Krrh…." Ash growled as he thrust his pokéball forward, "Quilava, return!"

"Another switch?" Drew scoffed, "Not that confident are we?"

"Shut the hell up" Ash coughed, "Overheat is a stat lowering attack. Leaving Quilava in battle after using it would only cause problems." He looked down to his waiting partner, a little surprised to see his cheeks sparking with electricity. "Looks like you know…" Ash brought his head up again, "Pikachu, you're up!"

"Venusaur!" May shouted as the electric rat ran into the field, "Vine Whip!"

"Pikachu, use Agility!" Ash watched, once again surprised, as Pikachu instead used Volt Tackle, though he still avoided the attacks, "What the…?"

Dawn looked at Ash, "What's he doing?"

"Why isn't he listening?" _What's wrong with him? He's been acting odd since last night…_

################################Flashback##########################

"What a nice night!" Ash stretched as he walked. It was pretty late, Ash figured, as nearly all of the lights of the nearby hotels and restaurants were slowly shutting down, one by one.

The dinner Dawn had made was amazing, especially since Brock was the best cook he knew, while Dawn… Well, to make a long story short, Ash had gotten a bit of heartburn from the meal and had decided to walk it off with his partner and best pal in the world, "Pikachu, I…" Ash stopped in his tracks, looking all around, "Hey! Where'd you go buddy?"

A burst of yellow light followed by what felt like an explosion caused Ash to instinctively drop to the ground, covering his head. _What the hell was that!?_ As the light died, he stood once more. He brushed off the event momentarily, though a certain someone's cry caused him to take off into a full out sprint, "Pikachu!!!" He shouted as he tore across the neatly combed grass.

Where was he!? Whatever that light was, it was close, yet no matter how far Ash ran he didn't see his partner, "Pikachu!" he shouted once more, skidding to a halt as he heard his friend cry once more, though this time it sounded almost… erotic? For a lack of other words, that's what he thought as he turned and continued toward the cry, finally sliding to a halt next to the curled up Pokémon.

"Pikachu…" Ash knelt down next to the electric mouse, which suddenly leapt into his arms and began cuddling up to him._ What the heckl…?_ "Pikachu, are you all right?" Ash asked before flinching, expecting a Thunderbolt when Pikachu's cheeks began sparking, though the attack never came, "Let's get you back to the hotel…" Ash stood and began walking, his thoughts filled only with the constant repeating question, _What the devil happened?_

#########################Flashback End##############################

"It has to have something to do with that light…"

"What light?" Dawn stared at Ash.

"Nothing!" Ash replied as Pikachu skidded to a halt then back flipped to avoid Venusaur's Vine Whip, "Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

This time the Pokémon did as it was told, though it was interrupted as an Ice Ball slammed into it, knocking it to the ground, immediately standing up again, "Piikaaa…" It growled.

"Okay, something's seriously wrong" Dawn stated.

"Thanks, captain obvious" Ash grinned at Dawn, though it quickly faded. She was right. Something was seriously wrong, especially now that Drew had a large smile planted on his face. Even May was looking at Drew, wondering what was on his mind.

"Once more!" Drew commanded, his smile remaining the same despite the repeated blasts of ice growing larger and larger, "One more time on Mamoswine!"

"If that thing hits, it'll-" Dawn was interrupted.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried as his partner took the blow for Mamoswine. Ash just stared in shock. One, he couldn't believe he was still standing, and two he had never seen the dark look that resided on Pikachu's face, nor the growl.

"Pii…kaaaa…" It groaned, it's cheeks going crazy with electricity, as well as a yellow light emanating from it's chest.

"Just as I thought…" Drew closed his eyes, his smile widening.

"CHUU!!!" Pikachu screamed, unleashing a wave of electricity so powerful it ripped through the Festival Stadium's roof as well as causing the lights to flicker on and off, and everyone in the crowd's hair stood on end, though it didn't hurt humans; just the Pokemon.

Except one human: Ash. Every muscle in his body ached from hearing the scream, "Pikachu…"

"Drew" May looked at her partner, who obviously knew something, "What just happened?"

"I believe that Pikachu is carrying a Light Ball. It doubles both of Pikachu's attack stats…" Drew put his hand to his chin, "But they're ridiculously rare… And I don't believe I've ever seen this Pikachu freak out like this when he was beaten in contests on TV…"

"A Light Ball…?" Ash continued to stare at Pikachu, _So that's what's doing it… _"Pikachu, return!"

"Pii…."

"Pikachu! Return now!"

"Kaa…."

_Screw it!_ Ash took off running, "Pikachu!!" he shouted as he grabbed his friend.

"Chuu-!!" Pikachu released another Thunder attack, though it quickly died down to normal strength as Ash hugged him, causing the Light Ball to deactivate.

"Ch…kh…" Ash groaned in pain as he held his friend close, "Pikachu…. Re…turn…"

"What the…" Drew stared at the scene, "Why would he put himself in harms way like that?"

"ASH!" Dawn screamed as she ran to the pair.

"That's just how Ash is…" May said with a blush and a smile, "He cares about his Pokémon more than himself, and will put his own life on the line to protect them."

"Keh" Drew scoffed as he checked his Walrein; paralyzed, and barely standing. He had to admit though… _I'm impressed…_

"Chuu…" Pikachu mumbled as he and his trainer stood, both looking each other in the eyes.

"Feeling better…?" Ash coughed, smiling when the Pokémon nodded, "I'm calling you back, but you haven't fainted." He gave the electric mouse what he'd been giving a lot that day: a thumbs up, "You're still in the game, buddy!" Pikachu leapt into his trainers arms then readjusted to his shoulder as the duo, with Dawn behind them, returned to the outside of the ring.

Dawn looked back at her opponents as she walked; Walrein amazingly was still up, but was stuck where it stood with paralysis. She figured it would be switched out, though the logical move would be to let it faint. Venusaur looked pretty damaged, but it wasn't paralyzed. She then looked at Mamoswine, "Thank God he's a ground type…" Even so, the sheer power of the Thunder attack actually damaged him, despite his immunity to electric moves, leaving him beaten up and weak.

"What an unusual turn of events, but it looks like everything has been cleared up!" Laura shouted as the trainers readied themselves once more, "Let the battle recommence!"

Ash brought out his next pokéball, "Bulbasaur, I choose you!" the ball burst open in a flurry of purple flower petals and bubbles to reveal a mini, flowerless Venusaur.

Similar to Quilava, it shook its back, releasing numerous shiny spores from the green bud on its back, "Bulbaaa!"

"Two of the same family…" May smiled, "But mine's fully evolved. Vine Whip, Venusaur!"

"Bigger isn't always better! Dodge it Bulbasaur!" The small Pokémon jumped and rolled to avoid every vine.

########################################################################

"Mamoswine! Use Ice Fang on Walrein!"

Drew didn't even bother issuing a command. Walrein was going down with no chance of escape. One shot, and it indeed went down, "Walrein, return" he called his fainted Pokémon into its pokéball.

Drew took a moment to observe the situation. May and Ash were duking it out with separate parts of the same family, and Dawn… _How is that still standing?_ He had no idea why he was surprised. Just like Walrein, Mamoswine is a tank, though he knew it was only a matter of time before it finally gave in. But unlike him, Dawn hadn't lost a single Pokémon, while drew had lost two. "All right…" He threw his pokéball, "Arcanine!"

In a flash of flame and black smoke appeared a large dog with red fur and both a white bushy tail and mane. "Arrooo!" it howled.

"Arcanine, Extreme Speed!"

The hound took off into a blindingly fast run, a streak of white following behind it. "Mamoswine!" Dawn couldn't issue her order fast enough as Arcanine rammed the tusked Pokémon, "Crap!"

Arcanine leapt a few feet back from Mamoswine, "Now! Iron Tail!" Arcanine then jumped into the air and spun, its tail glowing a vibrant silver before slamming into Mamoswine's head.

"Mamoswine!" Dawn cried as her Pokémon was finally taken down, "Damn it…" She recalled her Pokémon, "Who to use…"

#################################################################################

"Yes!" May cheered as Venusaur finally grabbed Bulbasaur with it's Vine Whip, "All right, slam it into the ground!"

"Venuuusaur!" Venusaur roared as it proceeded to do just as it was told, slamming her younger form repetitively.

"Let's show her who's strongest, Bulbasaur! Power Whip!"

"Say what!?" May cried in shock as Bulbasaur brought it's own vines out, both glowing a bright grass green.

"Bulbaaa!" Bulbasaur shouted as it slammed its vines down on Venusaur's, causing Venusaur to lose it's grip and 'throw' Bulbasaur into the air.

As though a messenger for a miracle, a single beam of light shone through the hole in the Arena's roof, "Bulbasaur!" Ash shouted, remembering one of his old battles as he relayed his command, "Solar Beam!"

"Oooh shit…!" May groaned as Bulbasaur spun upside down and fired it's Solar Beam, the bluish green blast nailing Venusaur right on it's head, the sheer force slamming it into the ground, knocking it out just as Bulbasaur landed, trails of sunlit spores flowing off of it.

Bulbasaur turned and ran to it's trainer, who gladly took him into his arms as May chose her new Pokémon, "Great job, Bulbasaur!"

"Bulbaa!"

"You did it!"

"Donphan, stage on!" In a storm of stars a short armored elephant appeared, "Rollout!"

"Kh, Bulbasaur!" Ash shouted as Donphan tucked itself into a ball and tore across the stage, the Rollout attack slamming into his Pokémon, launching it into the air, "Razor Leaf!"

Bulbasaur unleashed a flurry of razor sharp leaves toward Donphan.

"Rapid Spin, Donphan!" The Pokémon curled and spun, creating a small tornado that blew away the leaves, "Rollout again!"

Ash looked to the ceiling; the sun was blocked by clouds again, "Bulbasaur!" he shouted once more as Bulbasaur was launched into the air again, "Use Power Whip and grab Donphan! Stop his Rollout!"

Bulbasaur lassoed the rolling elephant, digging it's toes into the ground trying to stop it, "Keep going, Donphan!" May cheered as Donphan finally pulled Bulbasaur off the ground and caused it to fly toward it "Now, turn and use Hyper Beam!"

"Dooon!" Donphan shouted, spinning to face Bulbasaur as it charged then fired it's Hyper Beam just before the Seed Pokémon reached it, blowing it all the way back to Ash's side.

"Bulbasaur!" Ash knelt down next to his friend, "Great job, buddy. Take a break" Ash called Bulbasaur back into his pokéball then pulled out another, "Squirtle! I choose you!"

#########################################################################

"Buneary! Spotlight!" Dawn shouted as her bunny Pokémon emerged in a spray of hearts and red confetti.

"Dawn!" Ash called to her partner, "Switch sides!"

Dawn grinned. The type matchup obviously was lopsided. She nodded before switching sides of the ring with Ash, "Buneary, Ice Beam on Donphan!"

"Rollout!" Donphan curled into a ball and charged toward the blue beam, taking the blow without any damage as it cut through it, slamming into Buneary and sending it into the air just like Bulbasaur, "Turn and use it again!"

"Buneary!" Dawn cried as her Pokémon was rammed again.

"Once more!"

"Buneary, spin around then use Dizzy Punch!" The added spin added to the strength of the attack as Buneary nailed Donphan, breaking the Rollout and sending it tumbling in the other direction.

"Aah! Donphan, get up!" The Pokémon struggled to stand.

"Ice Beam!" Dawn shouted, her Buneary firing another blue beam forward.

Donphan could barely stand, let alone move, "Don?!" It was struck by the beam, freezing momentarily before breaking out, fainting right after.

"Yeah!" Dawn cheered happily, hopping up and down with her Buneary.

"Damn…" May held out her pokéball and called her Pokémon back, "Good fight, Donphan…"

##################################################################################

"Squirtle, use Bubblebeam!" Ash shouted, grinning as the tiny turtle took a deep breath before releasing a storm of bubbles toward the fire dog.

"Arcanine, jump into the air to dodge it!"

"Track it and use Water Gun, Squirtle!" Ash shouted, clenching his fist in front of himself victoriously as the attack hit Arcanine, sending it spiraling back into the ground, "Now, Rapid Spin!"

"Arcanine, get up and use Iron Tail!" Arcanine complied, standing then slamming it's glowing tail into Squirtle, deflecting the attack.

"Do it again!" Squirtle tucked into it's shell once more, spun quickly, then flew toward Arcanine.

"Arcanine, into the air once more!" Arcanine leapt up and turned to face Squirtle, waiting for Drew's command.

"Squirtle! Use Water Gun to propel yourself!" Squirtle ceased spinning, though it stayed inside it's shell, and shot a blast of water through one of the shell holes at the ground, launching itself into the air after Arcanine, "Now! Hydro Pump!" Squirtle once again began spinning, releasing a torrent of water from four of the holes on it's body that immediately hit Arcanine, sending it even further into the air, "Finish it Squirtle! Bubblebeam!"

Squirtle popped it's head and limbs back out of it's shell, breathing in before firing a stream of bubbles at Arcanine, striking the fire hound as both landed, though Arcanine didn't land soundly, already fainting before impact.

"Hahaha!" Ash laughed, "Great job, Squirtle!" The tiny turtle turned to smile at his trainer.

"Arcanine, return!"

###################################################################

"Glaceon, come on out!" shards of ice burst from the pokéball as the ice fox Glaceon appeared, remaining quiet, "Ice Shard!"

"Buneary, Ice Beam!" Dawn shouted, though she quickly gasped in shock as the Ice Shard broke through the Ice Beam, ramming into Buneary and sending it sliding across the arena, "How the hell!?"

"Glaceon gets a boost due to it being the same type as the move used" May held up her arms and shook her head, "I figured you'd know that"

"Grr…" Dawn growled, "Buneary, Jump Kick"

"Glaceon, use Ice Beam!"

"Bun? Neary!" the bunny cried as it was hit by the Ice Beam, frozen momentarily then released from the icy prison.

"Buneary!"

"You'll have to do better than that, Dawn!"

"Kh…." Dawn's mind was a whirlpool of thoughts. No matter how she looked at it, she was outmatched. Her eyes gazed to Ash; his Squirtle was beating the shit out of Arcanine. _I can't hold him back… Let's give an old trick a shot!_ "Buneary! Charge Glaceon!"

"Ice Beam again!"

"Jump and spin!" Buneary spun through the air, the Ice Beam barely missing it, "Dizzy Punch!"

"Shit, I should have seen that coming! Glaceon, Icy Wind! Push Buneary back!"

A burst of frosty wind emanated from Glaceon, slamming into Buneary.

"You want to talk about same type boosting, then get a load of this! Do it Buneary!" The rabbit dug it's feet into the ground and pushed off, it's right ear glowing a bright white.

"Buuuneary!" It cried as it thrust it's ear into Glaceon, sending it flying towards May. Just like Donphan before it, it remained in the battle, yet struggled to stand.

"All right Buneary! One more time! Dizzy Punch!"

"Buuuneeeaaary!" Buneary shouted as it slammed it's "Ear fist" into Glaceon, knocking it over and out.

"Damn it… Glaceon, return" May recalled her Pokémon, "Good job…"

"All right! Way to go Buneary!" Dawn cheered happily, turning to see Ash cheering for his Squirtle as well. Looks like he just won his own battle. _This is so odd… this is a double battle, yet we're so distant…_ She couldn't ignore that smile though; he was happy fighting. _I'll give him some more time…_ She looked at May once more, _Besides, I'm not quite done with May._

_##########################################################################  
_

"Machamp!" Drew threw his pokéball into the ring, the four armed Superpower Pokémon appearing in a burst of stars and red confetti.

"Man, it's déjà vu all over again, huh Squirtle?" Ash smiled as Squirtle ran in.

"Machamp! Mega Punch!" Machamp slammed its fist into Squirtle, knocking it to the ground momentarily, "Mega Kick!" just as it stood it was belted and sent back to Ash.

"Come on Squirtle, we can do this!" Ash shouted as Machamp charged Squirtle with another Mega Kick, "Withdraw!" Squirtle pulled into his shell just as Machamp kicked him, sending him flying into the air, though with minimal damage, "Now! Bubblebeam!"

"Squuuirtle!" the tiny turtle took a deep breath then fired a stream of bubbles at Machamp, each bubble hitting and popping on and around it's head, temporarily blinding it.

"Use Rapid Spin!" Ash shouted, smiling as Squirtle began spinning, faster and faster until it shot straight down at Machamp, nailing it in the head, "Wrap it up, Squirtle! Keep spinning and use Hydro Pump!"

Just as commanded, Squirtle continued to spin while unleashing waves of water from the holes in it's shell, rolling across the ground before ramming Machamp all the while blasting it with water.

"No, Machamp!" Drew cried angrily as Machamp fell in front of him, knocked out. _Shit, this isn't going well…_ "All right!"

"Exeggutor!" May threw her pokéball, a tall tree like Pokémon appearing in a blast of red confetti and hearts.

"Absol, take the stage!" Drew threw his pokéball into the ring. In a burst of black and white smoke, the similarly colored Pokémon emerged, "Night Slash!" Absol charged dark energy into the blade on it's head then swung it's head like a sword, unleashing a black wave toward Squirtle.

"Squirtle, dodge it!" Squirtle dove to the side, barely avoiding the attack.

"Exeggutor, use Psychic on the Night Slash!" May commanded, Exeggutor's eyes glowing a bright blue as it mentally took hold of the black blade, "Turn it around!"

"Quite the combination" Ash shook his head as the blade swung around and slammed into Squirtle. But it didn't stop there; it carried Squirtle into Buneary, knocking both Pokémon out.

"Shit…" Dawn recalled her Pokémon before looked down to her closest partner, "Piplup, you're turn to shine!"

"Piip piip!" Piplup cried happily as it ran into the stage.

"Time to show them our teamwork" Ash smiled, "Pikachu, you up for it?"

"Piika!" Pikachu curled both of it's hands into fists in front of it eagerly.

"All right! You're turn again, Pikachu!" The electric mouse ran into the field, stopping next to Piplup, "Let's show them what you can do!"

"Exeggutor, Psychic. Lift Piplup" May said calmly. It almost seemed to Ash and Dawn like she was trying to act like a Psychic herself. Unlike her, Exeggutor used Psychic like a sixth sense, lifting the tiny penguin up into the air.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt on Exeggutor!"

"Piikachuuu!!" Pikachu screamed as it shot a bolt of electricity at the tree Pokémon, causing it to lose it's focus and drop Piplup.

"Drew!" May turned to her partner, "Why are you just standing there?!"

"Absol, Night Slash on Pikachu!"

"Dodge it!" Pikachu dove to the side.

"Piplup, Bubblebeam on Absol!"

"Move, Absol!" Just like Pikachu, Absol dodged the attack, "Psycho Cut!" This time a bright pinkish purple energy embraced the blade on Absol's head.

"Aaaabsool!" the Disaster Pokémon cried as it threw the attack at Pikachu.

"Dodge again!"

"Grab it, Exeggutor!" May grinned as once again Exeggutor controlled the blade and turned it back toward Pikachu.

"Piplup, use Bubblebeam on Exeggutor!"

"Sucker Punch, Absol!" on command Absol disappeared.

"What the? Where'd…?" Dawn's question was quickly answered as the Pokémon appeared in front of Piplup then performed an uppercut with it's head blade.

Once more, Pikachu dodged the attack, though the dodge wasn't celebrated as it instead arced over to Piplup, nailing it in the back. "Piplup!" Dawn called to her Pokémon as he landed on the ground, knocked out, "Oh…" Dawn sighed sadly as she ran and collected her Piplup.

"Now _this_ is battling!" Drew laughed.

"Only when you aren't losing horribly, I take it?" Ash said with a sly smirk, though it grew into a cocky smile when Drew stomped his foot angrily, "Pikachu, use Iron Tail on Exeggutor!"

The trainers didn't even bother waiting for Dawn as Pikachu slammed it's tail onto Exeggutor, though the attack seemed to bounce off, "What!?"

"Exeggutor has a large amount of defense, Ash…" Dawn explained, trying to decide on her next choice.

"Wonderful…." Ash growled.

"Night Slash Absol!"

"Aaabsool!" Absol cried as it threw another blade at Pikachu, nailing it and sending it back to Ash.

"Grr…." Ash knew he had to deal as much damage as possible before Pikachu fainted, "All right Pikachu, Volt Tackle! On Exeggutor!"

"Pretty determined to hurt Exeggutor, huh?" May simply sighed and shrugged, "Just use Sunny Day, Exeggutor"

A flare of sorts shot from Exeggutor, creating a small but brightly glowing orb of light near the ceiling, recreating the feel of the Sun. The Coconut Pokémon barely even flinched as Pikachu rammed into it with Volt Tackle, the attack instead knocking the rodent out.

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted to his Pokémon as he slid to a stop. As he lifted his Pikachu into his arms, he looked up into the center Exeggutor head's eyes. _This guy's going to make our life miserable…_ He then grinned, _But May just cost herself the match…_ He returned to his side of the field, then pulled out his next pokéball, "Garchomp, I choose you!"

"He's down to two Pokémon" May smiled at her partner, "Looks like the tides have turned."

"Dawn's still up three, though." Drew returned the smile.

"We'll just have to fix that…"

"I know just who to use!" Dawn said happily as she threw her pokéball, "Gardevoir! Shine!"

In a burst of stars and gold confetti a tall, white Pokémon with a green head appeared next to Garchomp, "Gardevoir." It said calmly.

"Dawn, what are you thinking!? Absol will tear Gardevoir apart!" Ash shouted at his team mate. _What is she doing!? … And when the hell did she get a Gardevoir?_

"You should have more faith in me by now, Ash." Dawn smirked, "Don't think I haven't put a bit of planning into this…"

"Absol, Night Slash on Gardevoir!"

"Garchomp, Solar Beam on-"

"Exeggutor, counter with your own Solar Beam!" May shouted, smiling as both Pokémon's beams of energy collided, Exeggutor's easily overpowering Garchomps, breaking through it and slamming into the giant shark, knocking it to the ground.

"Garchomp, get up!" It didn't even struggle as it leapt to it's feet; the plan didn't work! He couldn't stop Absol from…

Both Gardevoir and Dawn moved in perfect sync, dancing around the dark blade, "Now, Gardevoir! Miracle Eye!"

"I think you've cracked Dawn, because there's no way…" Drew started but was quickly cut off as a blue aura surrounded Absol, slowly turning black, then jettisoned off of the Disaster Pokémon in a flurry of sparks, "How the Hell!?"

"Hmph" Dawn grinned, "My Gardevoir is specially trained." She looked at Ash, "Not even Ash knew about her until now."

Ash stared at her in disbelief. _How did she…?_ He shook his head. Obviously she had a plan with this new Pokémon… He was just hoping she'd reveal her plan soon.

"All right, Gardevoir! Use Psychic and lift Absol off the ground!"

"Shit!" Drew stormed as he watched Absol float into the air.

"Exeggutor!"

"Ash, hurry! Get over to Absol and knock it out!"

"Garchomp, get to Absol!"

"Not that strategy again! Solar Beam!" May shouted angrily. _Their so repetitive!_

Garchomp leapt into the air and over the beam and stopped right underneath Absol, "Now! Use your own Solar Beam!"

"Gaaarchaaa!" the purple dragon screamed as it unleashed it's powerful attack point blank, knocking Absol into the air as well as knocking it out as it landed.

"Shiiit!" Drew growled as he recalled his Pokémon. _Exactly like the start of this battle…_

"Again, Exeggutor! Solar Beam!"

"Repetitive much? Garchomp, take the blow!"

Garchomp dashed then slid to a halt in front of Gardevoir, though once again Ash's block strategy backfired as Garchomp was blown into Gardevoir, damaging the Embrace Pokémon and K. the Mach dragon.

"Shit!" Ash growled as he withdrew his Pokémon. He then pulled out his next Pokémon, "Last one…" He looked at Exeggutor, "All right, Quilava! Flame Wheel!"

The Pokémon leapt out of it's pokéball and immediately curled into a Flame Wheel, flying towards Exeggutor.

"Exeggutor, Protect!" the tree Pokémon braced itself, a shield of green appearing around it.

"Use Psychic to grab Quilava, Gardevoir!"

"Gard…" the Pokémon sighed as it grabbed Quilava, though not stopping it's Flame Wheel.

"Lift him high into the air!" The Pokémon obeyed. Dawn waited a moment, then just as the Protect faded, "Bring Quilava down onto Exeggutor!"

_Now I see what she's doing_ Ash took a moment to think about this move, then smiled, "Meteor Strike!" he shouted, quite pleased with his name for the attack.

"Huh…?" Dawn stared at her partner. She had other feelings about the name, though she quickly dismissed the thought as Quilava slammed into Exeggutor at ridiculously high speeds, knocking Exeggutor unconscious on contact.

"Damn it" May growled, pulling out her last pokéball, having similar thoughts as Ash as she stared at it. _My last Pokémon…_This was it. The match rode on her ability to stay in the game, with her most trusted Pokémon being her final stand, "Blaziken! Staaaaaage on!!!" May shouted as she threw her pokéball into the ring, her Blaziken appearing in a burst of flames and mixed white and black smoke.

Drew shared feelings with both other trainers as well, _The typing here is completely against me…_ He shook his head, _I don't care. We're still going to win!_ "Bronzong, finish this up!"

In a burst of silver confetti a large bell shaped Pokémon appeared, "Zoooong!" It's voice rung like a chiming bell.

Ash looked at both of his opponents, easily choosing his new target, "Quilava, use Flame Wheel on Bronzong!"

"Quilaaava!" The Eruption Pokémon curled into a flaming ball once more and charged toward Bronzong.

_Shit, Bronzong won't last long out there…_ "Use Future Sight, Bronzong!"

The Pokémon's eyes glowed a bright blue, creating a sphere of energy above it which then disappeared. "What was the point of that?" Ash laughed as Quilava slammed into the Iron Bell Pokémon, "Again, Quilava!"

"Bronzong, use Psychic!" Bronzong couldn't activate it's move fast enough as Quilava slammed into it again, "Come on! We can't lose that easily! Payback!"

Bronzong bent one of the arms protruding from it's top and charged it with the energy of Quilava's attack, then punched the fire Pokémon, sending him reeling, "One last time, Quilava!"

Once more the lava weasel rolled into a flaming wheel and rammed Bronzong, this time knocking it out, "No! Bronzong! Damn it!" Drew shouted. He was out of the battle. Now it was all up to May.

May barely held off a string of curses and insults as she realized she was all but screwed now, "Blaziken…" She paused for a moment, "Blaze Kick on Gardevoir!"

Blaziken dug it's toes into the ground as it took off toward Gardevoir, it's right foot covered in flames.

"Quilava, use Overheat on Blaziken!" Ash ordered, knowing that the stat drop won't matter since Blaziken was the last Pokémon May had.

"Quii-" Quilava began charging the attack, but suddenly froze, a bright orb appearing above it.

"Shit, that's-!"

Bronzong's Future Sight unleashed a wave of energy onto Quilava from above, "Quiaaa!" Quilava screeched as it was knocked out cold by the psychic blast.

"Gaaah!" Ash brought his hands to head before starting to thrash around, ending by kicking the ground, "Damn…" He cursed once more as Blaziken rammed into Gardevoir, sending it flying.

Yet Dawn was unfazed by this defeat, "Ash" Ash turned to his partner, waiting for her to continue, but she merely shook her head, pulling out her next pokéball, "Togekiss, I need your help!"

A white winged Pokémon with red and blue speckles on it's chest appeared with a flurry of both small and large hearts, "Togeee!"

"Aura Sphere, Togekiss!" the Jubilee Pokémon held one of it's wings into the air, creating a spiraling blue orb, then threw it.

"Wait for it" May grinned, then, just before the attack hit, commanded, "Sky Uppercut!"

"Blaaaziken!" Blaziken roared as it charged energy in it's hand and performed a ridiculously powerful uppercut attack on the Aura Sphere, sending it flying into the roof of the stadium.

"All right, Blaziken! Now, use Blaze Kick!" Blaziken took off running in a full sprint toward Togekiss.

"Togekiss, use Psychic!"

"Togeeee." The Pokémon growled as it attempted to grab Blaziken with it's mind.

"Cancel the Blaze Kick and use Quick Attack!" May couldn't help but laugh as Blaziken shot around Togekiss at lightning speed, not leaving it a single moment to grab it, "Now! Flamethrower!"

"Blaaa!" Blaziken screeched as it unleashed a wave of fire into Togekiss.

"Sky Uppercut!"

"No!" Dawn cried as Togekiss was nailed with the fighting attack, knocked out in only two hits.

"And we didn't even take a hit…" May smiled, barely containing her 'evil side' as she said, "Here's the end of the round, Dawn."

"Krh…" Dawn glared at her opponent. It all came down to this, her final Pokémon. "Well… looks like we're down to the wire, Typhlosion…" she paused, then suddenly jumped back to life, throwing her pokéball, "Typhlosion! Claim the spotlight as your own!"

"Claim the spotlight as…" May stared at Dawn. It was a good attempt, but sounded pretty lame, "One on one…" May thrust her hand toward Dawn, "All right, Blaziken! Blaze Kick!"

"Typhlosion, let's start it off with a bang! Burst Fire Cannon!!"

"Graaaah!" Typhlosion began swinging it's head around and around, releasing a trail of flames behind it, slowly building up the fire before releasing it as a three round burst Fire Blast.

"I figured you'd use that!" May grinned, "Use Quick Attack!" Blaziken skidded to a halt then shot the to side, dodging the blasts, "Blaze Kick again!"

"Typhlosion, dodge it!" Dawn shouted, though it was in vain as Blaziken slammed it's foot into Typhlosion's face, sending it rolling across the field. _Shit!_ "Come on, Typhlosion, stand up! We can beat her!"

"Sky Uppercut!" Blaziken flew forward as Typhlosion stood, bringing it's fist up to nail Typhlosion in the chin, sending it into the air.

"You have to be kidding me!" Ash shouted angrily. He could tell Dawn was distressed; May wasn't fighting anything like two days ago. She was truly relentless, not giving Typhlosion a single chance to attack.

"Blaze Kick!"

"Protect!" Dawn shouted, Typhlosion creating a green field around itself just as the kick connected, mirroring what happened during the first contest battle. _If only we could use Blast Burn, but… it's never worked, no matter how hard we've trained…_ Dawn was slowly breaking down as she realized it was now _she_ who was all but screwed.

"Perfect, now he can't protect again!" May cheered, certain she was going to win, "All right, Blaziken! Wrap it up with Overheat!"

Dawn simply gasped as the fire bird charged it's attack, "No… No way… We lost…?"

"Keep the faith, Dawn!" Dawn turned to look at Ash just as Blaziken released it's Overheat attack, "Keep the faith! The faith I have in you! The faith that you have in yourself! Share that faith with Typhlosion!"

Dawn looked at the Overheat attack then at her Typhlosion, who then looked at her, fear and defeat residing in it's eyes, but Dawn could also see something else… _Hope…_ Dawn took a deep breath and shouted, a single tear falling, "I believe in you, Typhlosion! You can do it!"

In a heartbeat something else took over Typhlosion's eyes; persistence so strong that it's eyes glowed a fiery red. Just as it seemed the Overheat was going to hit, it blew off of what looked like another protect, though the flames were then 'grabbed' and began circling around Typhlosion.

"Oh my God…" Ash mumbled as he walked to Dawn's side. _What's going on?_

"I… I think Typhlosion!-"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I think we're being treated to seeing a very powerful attack being utilized for the first time!" Laura finally spoke once more.

Dawn lowered her head, "… Typhlosion…" Dawn took Ash's hand, who immediately began following her lead, the two going back to back, both pointing at May's Blaziken. The lovers shouted the command.

"Blast Burn!!!"

"Kraaaaaaah!" Typhlosion screamed as all the flames around it compiled into a sphere of burning fury in front of it before blasting off, tearing through the air like a meteorite with a spiraling five pronged tail.

"That's it…" May sighed as the attack hit Blaziken, creating a massive explosion that enveloped the entire ring in a dust cloud.

The entire stadium suddenly went mute. There wasn't a single sound as the entire building waited for the smoke to clear, and just as it did everyone rose to their feet, cheering Dawn's name.

"We did it…" Dawn couldn't hold off tears of joy, "We did it!" Dawn leapt onto Ash, who wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Damn straight we did!" Ash cheered. _We really did do it!_

May stood a little longer then collapsed to her knees. She was crying, but despite the falling tears she was smiling, "I guess…. There's just no stopping them…"

Drew placed his hand on her shoulder, "May…" He traced his hand down her arm to her hand and took it, helping her stand up, "What do you say you and I go to that 'Torkoal's Barbecue' restaurant you like so much?" He turned and, not waiting for an answer, began walking, pulling her behind him, "We can at least celebrate for almost winning" He smiled back at her, hoping she'd finish his sentence.

"If not for that-"

#####################################################################

"FLUKE!!!" Karen screamed as she thrashed in her seat in a terrible tantrum, "That was such a fluke! May should have won!" Karen screeched, not caring about the odd looks and glares she was receiving from the people in her seating section.

"Jeez, calm down, Karen" Terry sighed, scratching his head. He was upset too, mind you, but he knew that screaming wasn't going to change the fact that "Ash and Dawn won. There's nothing we can do about it."

Karen calmed down and slouched in her chair, "Yeah, I know… I just was really hoping she'd redeem herself after what happened the other day."

"Pika pii!" Pikachu cried, pointing at the center of the stadium.

"Well, maybe she will anyway" Terry smiled.

#####################################################################

"Hang on a second, Drew!" May broke her partner's grip and ran to Ash and Dawn, who were getting interviewed by a storm of reporters, "Ash! Dawn!" She pushed through the crowd of news teams, finally breaking into the limited space Ash and Dawn had.

"May…!" Dawn looked at her rival, "What are you…" Dawn looked at May's outstretched hand, "What…"

"I wanted to apologize… again… for what happened." May smiled as Dawn took her hand, "What I did was inexcusable, and I know there's nothing I can ever do to show my sincerest apologies, but…" May closed her eyes and smiled, a few tears cutting down her cheeks, "At least allow me to apologize here…"

Ash just stared at her. He didn't know if he should enter the conversation or just stay out of it. _All of this on TV too…_ Ash just shrugged his shoulders, _I don't know if she's doing this in all honesty or just using the reporters to make her look like a better person…_

"And Ash…" Ash turned to face May, who approached him, looked back at Dawn, then back to Ash, "I know… this is hard… but I have to know. We're still friends… right?"

Ash merely smiled and nodded, gasping a little as May embraced him in a hug, though she quickly released him, "Well… I've got a dinner 'date' with Drew, so…" May giggled then pushed her way through the news teams to meet up with Drew once more.

"Now, for our Festival Champion!" Laura handed Dawn the golden Grand Festival Cup, "And for our Ultimate Double Battle victors," Laura handed Ash and Dawn two tickets, "A three night stay in the fanciest, snazziest, and most luxurious hotel in Olivine City, the Olivine Wreath! You'll be treated like royalty!"

Dawn stared at the tickets with wide eyes, then turned to Ash, both of them smiling, "Then we'll be able to…"

Ash tapped her nose, signaling to stay quiet. It didn't work, "Ash" she wrapped her arms around his neck and, despite what Delia demanded, brought him into a kiss, on live TV.

It didn't take long for the two to get a little claustrophobic as one of the cameramen stepped toward them for a close-up. You could see Ash smile as he let one arm break from hugging Dawn, stopping the kiss momentarily, "Would you mind?" Both he and Dawn laughed, "You're spoiling the moment" He thrust his hand into the camera, knocking the reporter over. He then looked at all the other reporters, who quickly 'concluded' their reports.

"That's more like it…" Ash nodded triumphantly before looking back into Dawn's eyes, "Now… Where were we?" The two lovers embraced each other again, both lips and arms, and began what they both knew would be the best nights of their lives.

###############################################################

Tsukasa: Yeeeeaaahooo!!!!!  
Karen: I take it you're pleased with your writing this time?  
Tsukasa: That was the single most fun fanfiction I've ever written! And I hope all you readers liked it too!  
Karen: Good to hear. Now, I was wondering something… what was with that Gardevoir knowing Miracle Eye?  
Tsukasa: Ah, that was my vendetta taking effect!  
Karen: Huh?  
Tsukasa: I've gotten sick of all of these "Events" going on that I keep missing, so I decided I'd make my _own_ 'event' Pokémon, hence the Miracle Eye Gardevoir.  
Karen: I see… all right… Well! We hope you enjoyed this, everyone! Please review!  
Tsukasa: Once again, Check into my profile every once in a while for news and, more importantly, polls! I'm giving you guys the choice on what you want me to write next!  
Karen: We also would like to announce another writing opportunity!  
Tsukasa: I want someone to write an oneshot of May and Drew on their date! Kind of an odd request in a Pearlshipping fanfiction, but I do indeed wish to see a Contestshipping Fanfiction! And once again, it doesn't matter how long it is or how skilled the person is, I just like to read other people's ideas, so please, if you can, message me and give it a shot.  
Karen: Also, we'd like to say something about our special guests Terry and…  
Tsukasa: Karen! They're the stars of a little idea I came up with a _long_ ass time ago which I'm working on alongside Goddess Send (Don't worry, Goddess Send takes priority over it…) That's all I'm going to say for now, though I may hint at them a bit more in my profile or in other Pokémon oneshots every once in a while.  
Karen: I guess that wraps it up!  
Tsukasa: The next chapter will be up pretty quick, and joy to the world it will be a lemon, and a hell of a one at that!  
Karen: So until next time!


End file.
